Renegade
by Myra the Sark
Summary: A Wild Core spins out while Core-Tech is fleeing STORM, and results in all of them getting sent into the middle of the Metal Head War of Haven City, during the events of "Jak 2". Not to mention Core-Tech has been split up. And now two years have gone by... On hiatus again...
1. Chapter 1

It was dark. Chase knew that well—all of Core-Tech plus Jeredy did. But they still had to run, because STORM was right behind them. "C'mon guys, a little more!" the leader encouraged.

No replies came, because the other four were focused on breathing and running. But Bren was lagging behind.

Chase whipped around, going to help him—and his foot hit something with a _clang_, right as the STORM troops came into view. Exactly a split second later, he realized he had hit a Wild Core.

_Not good,_ he thought…

* * *

…while in a parallel world…

Baron Praxis, the ruler of Haven City, paced around back and forth in his office.

"Baron Praxis?" At the sound of his name, Praxis turned to the source to see Errol, his right-hand man and one of the Krimzon Guard Commanders, came to stand next to him. "Ah, Errol," the man acknowledged, turning to face the younger man. "Any news at the city?"

"Nothing so far," Errol said, "The Underground is getting harder to track, and I don't think we'll be able to hold out against the Metal Heads for much longer…" He looked over the city below them through the window. "I just hope the Dark Warrior Program succeeds…"

The baron merely grunted, looking out towards the city as well. As if he has enough problems already; ever since he had taken the throne, it was hard enough to drive off those creatures. He figured that giving them some Eco could level the odds, but he can't keep doing it forever. There has to be a way to get rid of them for good…

But the Commander did make a point. What if the Dark Warrior Program _did_ fail?

"…then we'll have to find a back-up plan in case it happens." He looked back at Errol, saying, "In the meantime, check to make sure we have enough Dark Eco for the program."

"Very well," the younger man nodded, and started to walk away—

When a familiar sight caught their eyes. "What the…" Errol trailed off as they both looked towards the sky.

As they did, a blast of energy erupted in the sky, as if an explosion occurred, and from some sort of purple cloud-like energy, what looked like six comets of some kind blasted from the sky and shot in different directions. One landed in the Slums. One around the Stadium. One near the Statue of Mar. The other three landed outside the city—one at the Precursor Temple, one at the Pumping Station, and the last at the Drill Platform.

The two of them stood in silence. Then the Baron turned to his commander. "Gather the other guards and apprehend whoever landed near the Statue of Mar, and get them _alive_. After that, search for the others that landed in the city."

"And the other three, sir?"

"Don't bother. The Metal Heads will finish those ones before we have a chance to get there, and I don't want to risk losing any more of our forces."

As the Baron stopped away, Errol made a sadistic smirk. "With pleasure…" he said softly before leaving the room. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a communicator. "Attention Krimzon Guards, report to the Statue of Mar and find what landed there. Detain them, but don't kill them, for the Baron wants them."

_"Yes sir, Commander,"_ one of them responded through the other side.

The red haired man moved his head up, and smirked. _This is going to be interesting…_

* * *

Jinja groaned, forcing her eyes open. _What just happened?_ She remembered being chased by STORM—both Charlemagne _and_ Trey being among them—then Chase had run back to help Bren and tripped on something, a bright green flash, and then…she was regaining consciousness here. As she got to her feet, not only was she suddenly aware that she was now in a city, but the pedestrians were all stopping to look at something.

Which was her, she realized.

"Who is that girl?"

"How did she get there?"

"It's just like last week!"

"How come her ears are so short?"

"Huh?" she muttered, looking at them closer when she caught the last question. She now noticed that the people here all had long, elf-like ears. _This day keeps getting weirder and weirder…_

She then heard the sound of many heavy footsteps approaching. The crowd quickly left the area, but why, the controller didn't know.

Jinja then saw the source of the sound—a bunch of large, red-armored troopers bearing what looked like rifles—and like everyone else around, they all had long ears—were approaching quickly.

"There," a slightly-statical voice came from one of the other troopers, "That must be the one."

Next thing Jinja knew, she was staring down the barrels of the rifles. As the Core-Tech member looked over the men in confusion, she heard another say, "What's up with the kid's ears?"

"Hey, uh… who are you guys? Where am I?" she asked, putting her hands up—as something told her not to mess around with these guys. She also had a feeling that bringing Charger or Whipper out would only get her into a bigger mess.

"You have no rights to ask any questions!" the leader harshly retorted. "You're under arrest for suspicious activity! You're lucky that the Commander and the Baron wanted you alive!"

"Wha'—I didn't do anything!" she snapped.

"Silence!" the leader snapped, moving forward with surprising speed and twisting one of her arms up, while another went and tied her hands. She could only struggle in vain as they started leading her somewhere.

* * *

If there was one thing Beyal learned in those few minutes, it was that he was no longer in his one world. It was a thought that was irrational—but true. Because he'd never seen structures like the ones he was among in his life—there hadn't been mentions of architecture like this in the Library of Tebab. Everything was a rusty red-brown coloring, with strange markings running across some. One such was an egg-shaped object that had been atop a cliff. It was good that he was very agile, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to reach it.

But it didn't answer the question about where he was, or where the others were. And, the energy level of this place…had two kinds. One was an ancient, pure kind. The other…still ancient, but the exact opposite of pure. Whatever it was, it scared the young monk.

* * *

Jinja looked around nervously as she was led into an intimidating building. When they had reached the building, a red-haired man was waiting there and he had said, "I'll take it from here," and started leading her into the building. A door opened, and they were then in a large room. In the corner was a rather large and intimidating man. He was wearing a red robe that obviously showed his high ranking, and when he turned to face the Controller, Jinja noted that one side of his face was completely metal. _I wonder what could've done that,_ she thought grimly.

"There you are, Commander!" he boomed, "I thought you'd never return." He looked at Jinja for a few moments, and said, "Is that the one that was by the Statue of Mar?"

"Yes Baron. We haven't gotten a name out of her yet."

It was then Jinja saw her chance. She gave a swift kick to the "Commander," knocking him to the floor, and made a dash down the hall. Before she ran, she also swiped a keycard.

She noticed that Charger's Core had come unclipped and fallen to the floor.

_Can't worry about that now,_ she thought tersely, though it was an agonizing decision. _I'll find a way to get Charger back…_

Along the way, she passed by a cell that she had passed by while being led in. _Well, it's somewhere to hide._ Using the keycard she'd swiped, she opened the door and dove in, shutting it behind her. She sighed in relief, fingering Whipper's Core. However, the relief quickly vanished when she made out the distinct sound of someone crying. Jinja looked up sharply toward the source, and was shocked.

In the corner bunk was a boy who looked roughly her age, maybe a bit younger. He had blond hair, blue eyes, and blue-and-white clothing. He was curled up, and his hands were covering his eyes as the tears ran down his cheeks.

"Hey," she said softly, "What's wrong?"

In response, the boy suddenly leapt up, gasped, and cowered against the wall. "Sorry!" Jinja said, backing up. The blond teenager seemed to understand just fine, though; he stopped crying and approached her, sitting down on the floor, Indian-style. He pointed at her and gave a questioning look, and Jinja realized he was mute.

"Oh, my name's Jinja," she said.

The boy blinked, and mouthed, _"Jak."_

"Um, Jak?"

All of sudden, the sound of someone swiping a keycard hit their ears, making them both freeze. In a flash, the door flew open, and Errol appeared in the doorway, grinning wickedly at both of them.

"I heard your little conversation," he said. "Jinja, is it? You gave us a fright when you ran off like that." He laughed caustically. "I see you've found Jak," he added, sweeping his gaze over the two of them. "And if you're wondering, I always have a spare key. You thought you could outsmart me, but you were wrong. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to take Jak to the testing center."

He knocked Jinja to the ground without effort and grabbed Jak by the arm, and led him out of the cell. Jinja followed, wondering what lied ahead. After turning down a few hallways, the three arrived at what was apparently the "testing center."

Two minutes later, Baron Praxis arrived as well, and after giving the Core-Tech controller a look, he pushed past her and marched over to Errol and Jak.

"All right, Jak," the Baron began, "We're going to pump a little bit of Dark Eco into your system now and see what happens." Jak closed his eyes and began to shiver. Errol hung back and let Baron Praxis do most of the work, and he watched as he sterilized needles and shoved one into both of Jak's arms and feet. Jak stared at the Commander with pleading eyes, but Errol only smiled and waved at him, which made him all the more frantic.

Jinja, meanwhile, remained silent—something told her that she had better keep quiet. Even though she had a million questions blazing through her mind. For one: _What's Dark Eco?_

"Ready?" the Baron said, "Initiate Dark Eco injection!"

In the next few minutes, all three of them watched the Dark Eco travel through the transparent tubes and enter Jak's body. The boy writhed in agony in the chair, but was unable to break free due to his restraints. He gritted his teeth and tried to scream, but couldn't. _"Injection complete,_" a robotic voice announced as the machine powered down. Jak collapsed and breathed heavily. Tears of pain ran down the side of his face, and the Baron cautiously approached him.

Jinja, meanwhile, felt horribly guilty that she had just stood there. Whatever Dark Eco was, it was obviously bad. "How do you feel?" Praxis asked. Jak glared at him and bared his teeth. "Can you move at all? Errol, unstrap him." Errol released the locks on Jak, and he suddenly stood up with a startling fury. He continued to breathe heavily as he lifted his hands into the air and examined them. They were glowing a faint, purple color, which traveled throughout the rest of his body until he was completely lit. Terrified, Jak ran over to Jinja and hid behind her. "I don't know, Baron Praxis," the Commander mused, "Nothing seems to be happening so far. Do you think we failed?"

"Of course not! You know how long the effects of the test take to show themselves!"

"If you say so. Are there any more tests you're going to perform today or should I bring Jak back to his cell?"

"I'm going to try to pump more Dark Eco into his body and see what happens then. Bring him back later in the afternoon." Errol nodded and led Jak back to his cell, but as he reached for him, he snapped at him like a wild animal. Nevertheless, he allowed him to take him back to his cell.

Once they arrived there and Errol pushed him inside, he said, "You were good today, Jak. The Baron and I are pleased with how it turned out." Jak glared at him and balled his hands into fists in response. He then flicked his gaze to Jinja, who still looked shocked, but a bit sad as well. Errol smirked and pulled the door shut after promising Jak that he would be back to run more tests on him later. "I feel optimistic about this war, Baron Praxis," he commented when he arrived at the Baron's office, "Now that we have a weapon to defeat the Metal Heads."

"Hopefully, he will be the key to ending this war," Baron Praxis added, "Just as long as he begins to show some results."

"The Dark Eco better, because I've gotten word that there may be another Metal Head attack soon. Won't you _please _let me take my men out and fight them?"

Baron Praxis turned to Errol and gave him an incredulous look. "I've told you before, Commander!" he reasoned, "You and your men wouldn't last five minutes in a battle with the Metal Heads."

"You don't know that! You haven't even given us a chance!"

"Do you remember what happened to my team?"

Whatever had happened, it must have been bad, as Errol instantly shut up. He nodded.

"I will not lose my Commander in the same fashion. I may have gotten out alive, but you might not. So, no. I want you here watching over the city."

"Yes, Baron Praxis. But I still want to fight one day."

"You want to fight too much, Errol," Baron Praxis teased, "You should race every now and then to tame that part of yourself."

Errol exhaled deeply. "If there was a race going on right now," he replied. "Which there isn't." The two of them began to contemplate the war as they looked out the window.

"Oh boy," Jinja muttered after hearing this—though her words were loud enough to remind the Baron and Commander that she was still in the room.

"So, Jinja," Errol started. "Where are you from?"

"Melian City," she answered, looking in between them—she didn't want to look at these monsters.

"Don't lie to us, girl!" Praxis threatened. "No such place exists! Tell us where you're from!"

"I said, I'm from Melian City," Jinja repeated more intensely. _Now I _know_ we're not anywhere where we're supposed to be…_

Errol and Praxis glanced at each other, obviously realizing that the tactic wasn't working. "She's a strong one," Errol said. "Perhaps we should put her in the Dark Warrior Program." He glared at Jinja as he said this, and the latter's heart rate sped up. Whatever the "Dark Warrior Program" was, she wanted no part of it whatsoever.

"No," Praxis said.

The Commander raised an eyebrow in surprise. "No?" he echoed.

"No," the Baron repeated, "I don't think that would be a wise choice."

"Then what do you propose we do with her, then?"

"Well, we _do_ need more Krimzon Guards. Those pathetic citizens out there don't want to join, so we usually have to draft them. As you said, Jinja seems strong. I can see her in uniform already."

"Do I get to train her?"

"Yes," Praxis assured him, "In fact, you can get her geared up now."

"As you wish." He looked at Jinja, and ordered, "Come with me."

Seeing no need—and having no desire—to protest, Jinja followed down the hallway to what appeared to be a fitting room.

"Left drawer," Errol said after shoving her into the room, and shut the door, him waiting in the hall.

As soon as the door shut, Jinja sighed.

"Just great," she muttered. "Now what've I gotten into?" She was also still painfully aware that Charger's core had dropped off in the first room. She slipped the uniform she found on. She had no idea what the Krimzon Guard were—or maybe she did have an idea—but she knew she would find out soon enough.

She came up, shaking her limbs a bit to get a feel for the uniform. "Welcome to the force, Jinja…what's your last name?"

"Blackwell."

"Hm," Errol mused quietly. "Lieutenant Blackwell…it has a nice ring to it."

* * *

There were moments in life when one found themselves completely and utterly puzzled.

For Errol, this was one of those moments.

He had found a cylindrical device in one room on the floor—it was a uniform cyan, with brown grips on it, and it had a strange marking on one side—the other was open, and glowed bright-blue. Common sense told him not to touch that end.

He kept staring at the strange, sparkling light blue/cyan energy, which had been extracted from the cylinder, contained within a glass case. Thanks to the technology, any type of energy or form of Eco could still be stable in that container.

However, it was hard to stabilize this strange energy the first time; but after a few minutes, although it almost faded at some points, they managed to do so.

Still though, he was surprised. Something that was not Eco, yet it was a life-force?

This strange energy…

It fascinated him.

Maybe if he could somehow recreate this energy with a couple of scientists, and perhaps…perhaps Baron Praxis would finally have that "Plan B" he'd been wanting.

* * *

"Commander Trey, do you know where ve are?"

"No Commandant, I don't."

Both Charlemagne and Trey looked down from the cliff ledge at the large city below. Also at the ridiculously huge palace in the center of the city. Behind them, the other STORM troops had set up a makeshift camp out of scavenged items and carefully-moved rocks with the help of some Monsuno.

All of them knew that it was a Wild Core to blame for this. No doubt about it. Though all of them wished that they'd been sent somewhere else—the rocky terrain was not the most comfortable of landing spots—all of them, even Charlemagne, had a few bruises from the impact.

Probably the only good thing was that Jeredy Suno had also been dropped in the area, so they had him in custody.

A sudden, eerie silence then erupted in the area; all those present felt themselves seem to freeze in place, and all Monsuno that were out—Driftblade included—had their fur/feathers stand out; even they were frozen in place. One thing was certain: all of them felt nervous. Even the Commandant-Marshall.

_Something is not right here…_ So she thought…right before a metallic-looking creature with four eyes and a glowing yellow gem-like object in its head leapt at the high-rank members.


	2. Chapter 2

Chase woke up suddenly. The first thought to cross his mind was _Where are the others?_

The second was _Where am _I_?_

He saw that, instead of the forest, he was in what looked to be a run-down town, with a few trenches with wooden bridges going over them. He also noticed that he heard voices.

"What's up with that kid?"

"What's up with his ears?"

"And those blue things he has—what are they?"

"Huh?" Chase muttered, instinctively hiding his cores from view. _Okaaaay,_ he thought when he saw that these people looked like elves, long ears and everything. _I must've hit my head. Yep. Can't wait to wake up from this._ _Maybe if I…_ He pinched himself really hard. It hurt. And he was still being stared at. _Maybe it's not a dream…_

* * *

Beyal understood a few things about this place. One: it was a mountaintop temple, complete with waterfalls all around, and—amazingly—floating platforms. Two: it was built very, _very_ long ago. It appeared to be even older than the ruins in the Casco Gorge, yet the buildings had not worn down at all for some reason.

He had also found out what the dark presence seemed to be coming from. There were strange creatures occupying most of the area: a strange lizard-like creature with reddish-colored skin, four yellow-orange eyes, and most distinguishably a glowing yellow gem-like object embedded in its forehead.

At first it had been a stare-off between himself and two of them, but then they both lashed out at him with their claws. He had quickly scrambled up to one of the higher buildings, which was an open-walled room with a small shaft of light shining down onto a circular disc, made of the strange rusty-red metal. Lucky for him, there was a freshwater stream right outside, along with a fruit-bearing tree. But as he was about to try one of the fruit, a movement caught his eye. The young monk froze in place, because he saw a yellow glow—one of the stones those creatures that attacked him had in their heads. But for some reason, this one felt…non-threatening.

So he went closer for a better look. The creature hissed at him as he got close, and he saw why. One of its wings—which had the shape and texture of a dragonfly's—was injured, which was why it was tucked in close to the creature's side. The creature itself had a slender, pale sky-blue body, and its feet had four sharp-looking claws. Its head had a resemblance to that of a snake crossed with a wolf. There were speckled markings on its back, and its tail was a metallic green.

Beyal paused a moment, then spoke to it. "I will not harm you," he said quietly. "I wish to help."

The creature seemed to understand, and ceased hissing, and extended its injured wing. The monk then saw the problem—there was a rather large thorn in the creature's wing, piercing it. He swiftly removed it, causing the creature to yelp; look at him, then at its wing, then back again. It stood, and he froze—

Only to be beyond puzzled as it nuzzled against his hand, making a sound similar to purring. He smiled faintly, while still nervously fingering Glowblade's core. _It appears I have made a friend…but if only I knew where the rest of my tribe was…_

* * *

Everything was blurry when Bren forced his eyes to open. What greeted him was not Chase, or Jinja, or Beyal, or even Dax.

Instead, there was a girl with blue-green-looking hair and green eyes hovering over him, a look of astonishment on her face. Not to mention she had elf ears. Literally.

"_Gaah!_" he yelped, sitting bolt upright. The girl jumped back in response. Bren saw that he was in some kind of mechanic's-workshop, since there was something that looked like a vehicle—it resembled a car somewhat, except it was more like a hovercraft, colored green and looked to be made for two people; it also had _two_ steering wheels.

"I guess you're awake," he heard a voice say. He looked and saw the girl staring curiously at him. "But I have a few questions. One: how did you get here, and two: what's this blue thing?" She held up the "blue thing" in question. Namely, Quickforce's core.

"Uh, I don't know how I got here, and that's mine!" He lunged for the core.

"What is it?" She held it higher.

"It's…uh…it's a…" He was trembling due to the fact that he knew he'd have to tell her what it was. "It's a core."

"A core for what?"

He paused. "Is there a roomy area where no one else'll see?"

"Yeah, the stadium's right around the corner. No one's there, since it's not racing season yet. C'mon, I'll show you." She froze, and asked, "What's your name?"

"Bren."

"Oh, okay. Mine's Keira."

* * *

"Commandant-Marshal Charlemagne, we've found something you might want to see."

"Not now."

"But—"

"Commander, I said _not now_." STORM's leader tightened the grip she had on Driftblade's core after saying that.

Only an hour ago, they'd managed to drive away those _things_. But they'd still killed two operatives.

This was the first time that had happened on her watch…she was still reeling from it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the commander still standing there, apparently not knowing what to do. He still had to wear those bandages—one of the things had clawed him in the face. Head-Medic Memphis had affirmed that both injuries he got were going to scar.

She sighed heavily, and then said, "Vhat is it you found?"

"Well…it's hard to describe…you'll have to see it."

So she followed him to a spot that had been previously covered by a boulder—broken into small pieces, courtesy of Goldhorn—and then stopped.

It looked like a small pit in the ground, ringed by strange rusty-red metal that she'd never seen before. And from four smaller holes in the metal, a strange blue energy was leaking out. It looked like electricity, even sounding like electricity. To her slight surprise, they'd also allowed Jeredy to look at it—that was what he was doing now. "Vhat is it?" Charlemagne asked finally after a struggle for words.

"We have no idea."

"Then find out!" Trey scrambled away, leaving her there studying the strange substance more. She had an idea. "Driftblade, launch!" Within a few seconds, the lion Monsuno stood beside her. The Monsuno put one of its paws onto the vent…and the strangest thing happened.

The Monsuno's yellow markings suddenly became tinged blue, and Driftblade seemed to radiate the energy as well. And, out of pure curiosity, the amber-eyed woman reached to put one hand in the energy. "I'm not sure that's a good idea," Jeredy said quickly.

"I did not say you could voice an opinion, Dr. Suno."

His eyes narrowed slightly, and he promptly ignored what she said. "Whatever it is, it's pure energy. You don't know what it could do to you."

Though she hated to admit it, he was right.

* * *

Dax spat out some sand as he lifted his head. _What the krag…?_ The Lowlander took in his surroundings. He was at a small coast it looked like, with tropical-looking trees behind him, and ocean in front of him. Also behind him was a whole series of pipelines, looking like water pipes.

"Where am I?" he mused after noticing a _huge_ wall off to one side. He went stiff when he heard something…behind him. The controller turned his head—

And was abruptly electrocuted. He staggered away, turning to see several…things…advancing toward him. They were bipedal, and all slightly bigger than he was. And all were armed with weird staff-things, one crackling with red electricity. He reached for Boost's core—

Only to see this bright white orb of electricity smack into the one in the middle. At as soon as it did, the others also received a continuous—and obviously painful—shock. Eventually all seven of them fell dead.

"Boom baby!" he heard a deep, rough voice, and the Core-Tech member turned to see a bulky man who's skin tone was a tad lighter than Dax's own, and emerald green eyes—though one had some sort of cybernetic eye over it. Faint traces of red hair was visible, though the top of his head was covered by some sort of a helmet; yet he was wearing what looked like a mask over his head as well, going around his ears—which were ridiculously long, elf-like even. Finally, he was holding a rifle of sort, which was obviously what produced the electric orb.

"Uh, thanks man," Dax said. "I would've been cooked if you hadn't stepped in."

"No prob. And, uh, what's up with your ears?"

"What's up with _yours_?"

"Huh. You're a tough kid. Tell you what; my boss has been looking for another hired gun."

Dax paused a moment. He didn't know where the others were. Hell, he didn't know where _he_ was! But he didn't want to get into any more scraps with those things. "I'm in."

The man nodded. "So cherry, what's your name?"

"Dax."

"Mine's Sig. Good to meet you."

* * *

Chase now had an idea on where to go. He'd hid himself at first—some people wearing red armor-like outfits came around, and the controller had a feeling that they're intentions were not friendly. He'd also overheard some of them talking about the "Underground Resistance." That was where he was going.

_Alright,_ he thought, positioning the cloak he had found—the guard-people were looking for some "short-eared individuals"—he dashed out…

Only to run straight into someone.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" a voice said.

Chase looked to see a young woman with blonde hair looking at him in worry. "Hey, don't worry about it," he assured. "I'm tougher than I look."

The woman looked at ease. "That's good…" She smiled, and said, "My name is Tess. What's yours?"

"Chase. Chase Suno. And, uh," He lowered his voice. "You wouldn't happen to know where the base of the Underground is, would you?"

Tess blinked in surprise. "Why do you want to find the Underground?"

"Well, I heard they want to take down the city's leader, and with how he's running the place…you get the idea."

The woman suddenly got a serious expression after his explanation, looking around a bit to make sure no one was listening, she made a gesture to him to follow before walking off. Chase went after her quickly.

It took a few minutes, but after a few twists and turns—while making sure the guard-people weren't watching—they reached a wide clearing of the area near the city wall, and at the other side was the entrance to a small alleyway, where there was a wall that had an emblem of sorts in green spray paint. As the two of them entered the alleyway, Tess looked around. "Torn, are you here?" she called out. "I ran into a kid who says he wants to join the Underground."

Chase suddenly found a hand over his mouth, a curved knife hovering dangerously close to his neck. "Don't move!" a slightly raspy voice ordered.

"Um, Torn…that's the kid who wants to join," Tess said with a bit of a sigh.

The person, apparently Torn, hesitated before moving the knife away, though the action also made his hood fall. Tess covered her mouth in surprise, while Chase turned around to see Torn—who had auburn hair in dreadlocks and blue-gray painting over his face—raise an eyebrow. "Well," he said in a low voice, tapping his chin, "It seems to be right on. I heard the Krimzon Guard is looking for some kids with short ears." At that, he sheathed his knife.

"Well…" the Core-Tech leader started. "My name's Chase Suno. I'm not from around here at all—heck, I don't really know _how_ I got here…" He didn't want to explain what a "Wild Core" was. "And I was hoping to join the Underground after seeing how this place's head-honcho runs the place."

Torn made an amused grunt. "If what you say is true, you probably won't last long in this city," he said coldly, "If you wanted to join something, why don't you go look for something else? There are a lot of opportunities out there." He started to walk over to the wall.

"Hey! For your information, I have something that these Krimzon Guard people couldn't even _dream_ of having!"

This made Torn stop. "Like what?"

"Like…"

* * *

"…this. Lock, launch!"

After asking if there was a vacant place where no one really went to, Torn and Tess led Chase to a place titled "Dead Town."

The cyan core made a _clank_ as it smacked against a stone wall. And within seconds, Lock stood there in all his Monsuno glory. Chase turned to see both Underground members staring in open-mouthed awe. "Alright," Torn said, still staring. "You're in, Suno."


	3. Chapter 3

"_Get the hell up Suno!_"

Chase yelped and fell out of his bed. He groaning, rubbing his head, before looking up at Torn. "'bout time you woke up," the Underground member said.

"Sorry." Chase sighed as Torn left the bedroom area. _Two years,_ he thought. _Two whole years, and no sign of the others. Are they even here?_

Life in the Underground—Haven City altogether—had changed him. For one, the Metal Head War was getting worse, and people were being killed almost daily out there. The Krimzon Guards would arrest anyone they thought was part of the Underground these days.

He also had a new outfit: he had a light-blue high-collar leather vest that was more of a navy-blue at the hems, and a pair of dark gray pants held up by a brown belt. He also sported a pair of white fingerless gloves with blue highlights, as well as a sky-blue helmet and a pair of blue pilot goggles.

He jogged into the meeting room, where—hence the name—meetings to discuss plans of actions took place. Torn was already there. "Alright Suno, you've been here for a while now, so I think you're ready for a big one."

"Like?"

"I want you to head over to the Krimzon Guard Fortress. Gather some guns for the rest of Underground members, and try to see what the Baron is up to. But be discreet about it, and _don't mess it up!_"

* * *

As soon as Chase got out, he took out the GPS he had received on his first official day, and made a 3-D map of the city come up. The Fortress was only a few minutes away…if he went by vehicle.

Thank God Tess taught him how to fly a Zoomer. He just didn't know how to work a Flyer—two-seated Zoomer—or a Cruiser—three-seated Zoomer.

_"__Welcome to the city transportation system," _an automated voice said as soon as he turned it on. With a flick of a lever, the Zoomer quickly ascended to the level that the other vehicles were slowly flying at. The raven-haired 17-year-old slightly moved the bars forward, and the Zoomer complied by moving forward. Smiling to himself, he shoved the bars forward even more.

It only took roughly two minutes to get there, although he had to hastily switch hover zones a few times, and almost crashed right into a KG Cruiser! But at last he made it to what appeared to be the entrance to the menacing red-and-black building that reminded him of Eklipse Monsunos. He slammed on the brakes and did a three-sixty while going into the low hover zone—a maneuver that took two weeks to perfect.

He then noticed a crucial problem, and muttered, "Aw crag…" There were two guards at the entrance. _How am I gonna get them away from there?_

"Say, when do you think that shipment of Eco will come in?" one of them said.

"I dunno, but hopefully soon. I'm tired of standing guard here…"

The first one shrugged. "Well, it beats sewer patrol. And have you seen the new Commander?"

"Yeah. Wish I was in her squadron…"

_New Commander? Torn's gonna want to hear about that._

After a few moments, the first one spoke up again. "Y'know, I wondered if Baron Praxis's new weapon will be ready soon." _New weapon, too?_

"Who knows?" The second one shrugged. "I'm surprised he managed to live through all the Dark Eco the Baron pumped into him.

"Yeah… nearly two years too…"

Chase was downright shocked. Spending two years here, he'd quickly picked up on this world's energy source: Eco. And he diffidently knew about Dark Eco—the most dangerous of all, able to corrupt and kill anyone who was unfortunate to either touch, fall into, or to try to control this chaotic substance. Therefore, he couldn't help but looked horrified that Baron Praxis was putting that stuff into some unfortunate individual.

An idea suddenly struck him. Smirking, he picked up a decent-sized rock, and threw it toward a building. It clanged into a pipe.

"What was that?" the first guard asked.

"Better go check it out…" They walked toward the source of the sound…leaving Chase with the perfect opportunity to sneak in.

The door led to a lobby, which had two hallways leading off from it. The one closest to him, however, was blocked off by a wall of electricity. _No going that way, then,_ he thought.

After a few minutes of walking, he reached what looked like an intersection. _Uh, let's see…_ He brought the map up. It showed a small part of the fortress that he was currently standing in—a blue arrow being where he was. He zoomed it out a bit, and saw that the right path led to his destination. But the left path seemed…intriguing. _I'll check that one out later,_ he decided.

As he continued on the right path, an angry voice made him freeze. "What do you _mean_, there are more at the Drill Platform?"

Another voice sounded, sounding very afraid. "Commander Errol, I'm just saying that there are eleven more short-eared individuals near the Drill Platform. A-And I saw these _things_, like these monsters or something! But not Metal Heads! They were black and yellow."

_Black and yellow monsters…holy krag, that's STORM, then. _He found that the voices were actually coming from below him, and he could see the people below through a metal grate that served as that part of the floor. There were two Krimzon Guards, as well as an important-looking guard with a mess of spiky orange-red hair under a menacing–looking metal mask. Unlike the other guards, his outfit had yellow and black as well as red.

"We also have two pictures—one of the people, and another of one of the monsters." A holographic image came up, and Chase looked closely.

A few were obviously STORM troops, a few Elites, an unfamiliar brown-haired man, and a black-haired woman…who weirdly looked like Trey, who was there, of course—who also had quite the scar running over his left eye for some reason, though Chase had a guess why. As well as…

Though her hair was a bit longer, she was still recognizable._ Charlemagne. Should've known. And—there's dad!_

Then the other picture came up, obviously a STORM Monsuno. Driftblade to be exact. "Interesting," Errol mused.

"Do you think the creature may be similar to the energy you found?"

"Possibly…except this one is yellow. The one we have is blue. And while you're here, bring the Dark Eco to theDark Eco Pump machine! And after that, report to the Baron what you found!"

"Y-Yes sir!" the guard stuttered, nervously saluting him before he and his comrade fled. Chase saw the Commander then look around, and out of instinct, drew back—right as Errol looked up…to see nothing. _That was close! _Then his eyes darkened. _He found one of our cores…_

Still, he waited until the Commander's footsteps had died away before continuing. It wasn't until a few minutes later that he came across a steel double door. The black-haired teen checked the map one more time, confirming that this was his destination, before going up to it.

As if they sensed another presence in front of them, the doors parted away, letting him see what was inside. And what he saw amazed him.

There were all kinds of weapons and armor in there, but one in particular caught his eye, since it was away from the others. _Okay. Better start packing._ He took out a black duffel bag, and started putting random weapons into it. Though he knew it was stealing, it was for the better.

He then took a closer account of the one that was apart from the others. It was clearly a gun; the main body of it housed two thick gun-barrels stacked on top of each other, though the lower one extended a bit further. On top of the gun was a large red disc-like cartridge, clearly the ammo. It was a large piece of weaponry, but it looked far more powerful than the rifles or pistols he had seen. _I'll bring this one too._

After stuffing it into the bag as well, he quickly made a bee-line out of the room and back down the hall. He paused when he passed the intersection, and looked at the left hallway. _If I want to find out what this is…I better do it now._ He started down the other hallway. It was a simple one—just a straight path. Until he hit a door that had a window. Peering through, he was stunned at what he saw.

"Oh _God_," he whispered. He knew that he had just found out what the "new weapon" was supposed to be. Standing next to a chair of some kind were two people—one Commander Errol, and the other obviously Baron Praxis himself. The person in the chair had blond hair, though it was green in some places. Not to mention, there was this violet stuff coming from the machine and onto the chair. More precisely, into the person.

Said person was writhing, flailing, and _screaming _as that violet stuff—_Dark Eco_, he realized—was going _into_ his chest, spreading out all over his body. And with his limbs bond to the chair, it seemed like it was the _only_ thing he could do.

Finally, an automated voice said _"Dark Eco injection cycle complete. Bio-readings nominal and unchanged._"

The Baron, who'd been pacing back and forth impatiently, muttered, "Bah. _Nothing._ I was informed that this one might be _different_!"

Errol frowned a bit. "He is surprisingly resistant to your _experiments_, Baron Praxis." Looking over the limp young man on the chair, he added, "I fear the Dark Warrior Program has failed."

The Baron looked down into the abyss below contemplatively. When he heard the word "failed" he yelled angrily and grabbed the young man by his hair. "You should at least be _dead_ with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!" The green-blonde didn't react to this much, clearly being on the edge of unconsciousness. "I will _not_ be remembered as the man who lost this city to those _vile creatures_!"

As the Baron let go and moved to the edge again, Errol quickly said, "Baron Praxis, may I remind you about the energy source I found?"

"Yes, I remember. Move ahead with Plan B. And finish of this…_thing_…tonight!"

As he walked away, Errol said, "As you wish." Then, to the one in the chair, he added, "I'll be back for you later. There's something I have to deal with." He left the room, and as soon as Chase was sure he was gone, opened the door and ran into the room—

As a hovering thing came up, and a voice said, "Ding-ding! Third floor, body chains, roach food, torture devices." The Core-Tech leader paused, and saw an orange…weasel…standing on two legs and—apparently—had been the one to speak. "Hey buddy, seen any heroes around here?" he—as the voice was male—said.

Chase shook his head, and came forward, while the weasel said, "Whoa! What'd they do to you?" Then he saw Chase approaching, and said, "Hey, you are you?"

"I'm here to help," he replied simply, and said to the one strapped to the chair, "Are you okay?"  
In response, the green-blond raised his head, opened his eyes a bit, and then let his head fall back again, his eyes closing.

"Jak," the weasel started, "It's me—Daxter! And that was fine hello!" The last part was sarcastic, though Chase thought, _Daxter? Oh boy._ If he ever saw Dax again, this would get confusing. "I've been crawling around in this dump of a city, risking my tail—_literally_—trying to find you! I've been looking for you for _two years!_" Then, going to his knees, said, "Say something! _Just this ONCE_!"

And boy, did he say something. He raised his head again, opened his eyes, and hissed, "_I'm gonna kill Praxis!_"

Chase flinched back, while the weasel—Daxter—put a hand over Jak's mouth. Chase shushed Jak, and said, "We've gotta get out of here. You wouldn't happen to know how to—"

He never got to finish the sentence, for Jak got himself out of the bonds. But something was…wrong. His skin had suddenly paled down to a sickly white-gray, as well as his hair. And his eyes…were just blackness. No white. He was also giving off sparks of…Dark Eco.

"Or, you can get yourself out," Daxter said, backing up behind Chase, who had also scampered back to the edge of the platform. Jak got off of the chair thing, and seemed to study Chase and Daxter. "Easy pal," Daxter said. "It—It's your old pal Daxter, remember?"

Jak lunged at them, claws extending form his hands, causing both others to shield their faces—

But the claws never came to them.

"D-Daxter?" Jak said, reverting to normal.

"_What the heck was that?!_" Daxter yelled. "Remind me not to make you mad! C'mon tall-dark-and-gruesome, let's get outta here." He froze, and said, "Hey, uh, kid? What's your name?"

Now Jak looked at him, seeming to actually notice him. His cobalt eyes narrowed. "Uh, m-my name's Chase," the controller stuttered, still recovering from what he had seen.

"Okay then, uh, Chase," Daxter said. That's fine and dandy an' all, but—"

"Why are you here?" Jak finished, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I'm here to steal some weapons for the Underground…which is a group rebelling against Baron Praxis."

Silence for a moment. Then, Jak said, "Count me in."

"Uh, I'll need to talk to Torn about that—"

"Do you know how to get out of here?"

Glaring a bit at getting interrupted, Chase looked around. "Let's try going through there," he said, pointing at a space where there were no cells, and there were a bunch of large crates stacked together right below a very large ventilation duct.

"Hey, uh, Jak? I found some new threads for ya. Why don't you get changed into 'em?" Daxter said while Chase was hoisting himself up onto the crates. It was, by far, the largest duct he'd ever seen. _Would've been a heck of a lot easier if STORM made their ventilation ducts like this,_ he thought, remembering the times he and his friends had snuck into STORM facilities.

He looked back and saw that Jak now was wearing a dark blue tunic-like shirt, a pair of sand-colored pants, a pair of dark blue boots with brown cloth-like material around it, three leather straps around his chest that held a metal ring and a small metal shoulder pad on his left shoulder in place, and pair of dark blue fingerless gloves, as well as a pair of mismatched goggles—of which had the one on the right bigger and wider than the one on the left, extending outwards a bit with a red lens there, as opposed to the smaller, clear lens on the left.

Jak then smirked after seeing Chase lifting himself up, and jumped from crate to crate agilely. "Wha'—no fair!" the Underground member exclaimed. "I have to deal with this heavy thing!"

Jak shook his head, and said, "We're escaping, aren't we?"

"Right." They reached the end of the duct, and jumped into the room below—

Only to hear an automated voice say, "_Warning. Prisoner escape in progress._"

An alarm began to sound off repeatedly, the room flashing red along with the alarm. "Just great," Chase muttered. "Torn is gonna _kill _me."

* * *

"Fourth of May, 1930 hours," Errol spoke into a recording device, "It seems that the Dark Warrior Program has ultimately failed; the test subject named Jak haven't made any signs of change with all the Dark Eco pumped into him. Because of this, Baron Praxis has moved on to our back-up plan: replicating the strange energy I discovered and using it against the Metal Heads instead. He's also sending out search parties to find Mar's Tomb…with no luck as of yet, though the Baron had most of the guards under me and Ashelin to locate clues to the Tomb's whereabouts."

He paused a moment, looking over at a glass container. "As for the strange energy…we have successfully found a way to replicate it." Within the glass was a sparkling, red-silver essence that flickered occasionally. "It not only responds to Eco, but forms of DNA as well—just like the DNA we found in the original sample. Earlier, I injected a mixture of Crocadog and Kangarat DNA into the essence, as well as traces of Eco Ore. The results were…" He paused, smiling faintly at the essence. "…incredible."


	4. Chapter 4

_"Surrender yourself. You are under arrest,"_ the same automatic voice stated to the escaping quartet.

"SHUT UP! We heard you the _first_ time!" Daxter shouted out at the voice.

Meanwhile, Chase was looking at his map to try to figure out which way to go. It'd been a straight path so far, but he knew it wouldn't be that way forever. "Aw crag," he muttered. For when they had come to an intersection of hallways, they heard a guard shout "There they are!" And the trio subsequently had to hide behind the wall in order to avoid being shot.

"GYAAH! How'd they find us so quick?" Daxter was quick to ask, pressing his back against the wall.

"It must be the security cameras!" Chase said over the gunshots. "They must've tracked us from them!"

"What now?" Jak was quick to demand.

Chase was about to say that he didn't know—when he suddenly did. Smirking, he grabbed Nitestone's core. _Good thing this hall's big enough,_ he thought. Looking out at the guards, he got into launching stance, and yelled, "Nitestone, launch!" while throwing the core. It spun in mid-air, going in between the two guards…and clanked against the wall behind them.

With a blue flash, the panther-jackal Monsuno stood behind the guards, growling. Both of them turned their heads and, seeing the source of the sound, screamed in a tone that sounded suspiciously like girls and fled. With a sentence of "Nitestone, return!" and another blue flash, Chase turned to his companions, who were regarding him in open-mouthed wonder.

Finally, Daxter said, "Holy crap…! Remind me not to piss _you _off either, kid!"

Chase couldn't help but smile a bit at the response Nitestone caused. "C'mon, let's keep going," and started going down the path—only to be stopped by Jak grabbing his arm.

"Hold on," he said, turning the teen to face him, "Why the hell are you helping us?"

"What do you mean?"

"You've only given us vague answers about what you were looking for," the long-eared male started off, "You have a sack full of weapons, and a…a _thing_ that comes out of a capsule! So why, in the name of the Precursors, are you doing this?"

Silence went on between the three. Chase looked at Jak's glare evenly, while Daxter looked between the two. Finally, Chase answered, "Because it's the right thing."

* * *

"_What do you mean, the prisoner escaped?!_" Errol roared at a guard.

"S-sir, we've also identified that a thief has somehow gotten in and snatched many weapons, the Morph-Gun included," the guard said shakily. "And it's one of the short-eared individuals that we've been searching for. It appears he's working with the Underground."

Errol made a snarling sound, and looked outside. "I want every guard outside to the streets of Haven City," he ordered. "_This instant!_"

* * *

"Wa-hoo!" Daxter shouted as they dropped from an elevated door. "We're free, Jak! Free!"

Jak didn't pay attention. Instead, to Chase, he demanded, "Alright, first off, where the _hell_ am I?"

Chase gave a surprised look. "You don't live here?"

"Actually, I was _imprisoned _for two years! So I haven't _really_ got a good look at the city, other than from the few times the Krimzon Guard took me around in their prisoner transports."

Chase was silent a bit. Then, he said, "Then let me to be the first to introduce you to Haven City."

"Haven City?"

"If you ask me, this city is _nothing_ but safe," Daxter added with a growl.

"Yeah, well, anywhere in this city, or outside the walls, _nowhere_ is safe," Chase remarked, crossing his arms and his eyes narrowing in anger mixed with annoyance. "Even if we _did_ escape that hell of a fortress, it's like we're still his prisoners. Everyone here is in the Baron's hands."

As Jak opened his mouth to say something, another voice cut him off. "Well, quite unusual for young men to be out after dark." Looking to the source, they saw an old man with very pale blue eyes, and long whitish pale-gray hair that grew mostly along the sides of his face. He had a head cap over his head, where an oval piece of ornament hang over his forehead. His clothes consisted of a blue robe, and he had a dull green necklace with a yellow gem in the middle. He also had brown boots, though the left one was torn. He also had a walking stick.

Next to him was a little boy who looked no older than two, who had bits of green hair poking out from under a brown cap. He was staring at them with cobalt-blue eyes, though mainly at Daxter. He wore a pair of blue overalls over a white tank-top, held in by a white sash around his waist, and a pair of brown wristbands. He had no shoes, and was wearing an amulet that resembled a yin-yang symbol. The little boy quickly hid behind the old man, shyly peeking out a bit to look at them.  
"Well," Jak began, crossing his arms, starting at the old man, "Is it strang_er_ for an old man and a little kid to be out at night too?"

Chase followed up with, "Who are you, anyway?"

"Well… you may call me Kor," he answered. Then he saw something behind them, and said, "Talk about being at the wrong place at the wrong time."

Chase turned his head, and exclaimed, "Aw krag! KG at six-o'-clock!"

He didn't notice that Kor had seen Lock's core, and had the faintest of smiles. "Interesting," he whispered faintly.

"By order of his eminence, the Grand Protector of Haven City, Baron Praxis, everyone in this section is hereby under arrest for suspicion of harboring Underground fugitives. Surrender and die!"

After that, everyone around them chatter fearfully to themselves. Chase, meanwhile, was screaming with panic mentally, since he was part of the Underground.

The only one apparently not concerned was Daxter, who caught something from what the guard said. He meekly walked to the guard and said, "Ah, excuse me, sir…" When he got the guards' attention, along with the group—Chase looked incredulous, while Jak and Kor both facepalmed and the kid watched on from behind Chase—he continued, "Don't you mean surrender… _or _die!?"

"Not in this city!" Kor said worriedly.

Chase had been all set to spin Lock out due to instinct, but something stopped him. It was Jak—something was happening with him. Something…changed with him, and violet electricity sparked off of him. The controller could only cover the kid's eyes while Daxter covered the kid's ears while this went on. Just like in the fortress, his skin bleached impossibly pale, and pitch-black claws came from his fingers. His canines elongated into inch-long very sharp fangs. And then it was done.

The thing that now stood before them had its arms hung limply at its side, head bowed with violet lightning coursing around it, not noticing or caring if anyone who saw this had their eyes completely wide—in shock, surprise, horror, it didn't care—staring at it.

The guards all stared, and the leader took one step forward, his gun ready.

The beast's head snapped up at the sound and turned to him. The guards saw nothing but pitch black, empty eyes, yet the madness they radiated scorched as fiercely as the desert sun. Chase instinctively shut his own eyes at what he had a feeling what was about to happen. And it was good he did.

Jak suddenly pounced at the guard with surprising speed, claws drawn back—

And a scream of bloody murder could be heard throughout the area.

* * *

In the Bazaar, the third KG Commander's head snapped up at the shriek. The Commander shuddered, wondering what could have happened to make that sound.

* * *

Near the Stadium, two mechanics froze over the Cruiser they had been repairing at the sound.

* * *

In the Harbor, an 18-year-old froze where he stood in the gun course, even as the cardboard Metal Heads moved automatically around him.

* * *

At the Mountain Temple, in one of the buildings, a 16-year-old's eyes snapped open from where he had been meditating, feeling a spike of negative energy coming from somewhere in the massive city below. His companion made a burbling sound and pressed against him, shaking.

* * *

By the Drill Platform, eleven individuals all heard a sound that made every single bit of hair on them stand out on end.

* * *

Finally, Chase cracked one of his eyes open—and instantly wished he didn't. "Oh my—" He covered his mouth in shock and his eyes widened in horror at the amount of dead—so many _dead_—bodies that lay on the ground. And standing in the middle was…_Jak_?

It certainly looked like him, and wearing the same clothes as him…yet it looked…_different_. Chase kept on staring. It looked like Jak. It really did. He blinked, before slowly began moving toward the young man. Daxter also slowly approached Jak, moving just as slowly as the blue-clad boy.

"Jak?" Daxter said, his voice higher than usual, "Jak… you still there buddy?"

_That's Jak? What the hell happened to him?_ The leader of Team Core-Tech didn't realize that Jak was analyzing the boy with his peripheral vision.

The thing that Jak had become let out a menacing growl as Chase approached, making him freeze halfway. The two stared at each other for ten agonizing seconds. Finally, Chase said, "Jak?"

And everything happened so fast after that.

Jak suddenly rushed at Chase, who had to back up quickly to dodge the swipes that Jak threw at him. He didn't come out unscathed, though, as he had a couple of cuts on his face and arms, even his shirt has some holes on it!

"Boy! You have to defend yourself!" Kor called out to him as the controller continued to dodge Jak's attacks, even bringing out the Morph-Gun to block most of them.

"No way!" Chase shouted. "Jak's still somewhere in there, I'm sure of it!"

He also couldn't think of attack an individual, nor kill them in cold blood. It was one thing with Metal Heads: violent, deadly creatures that could kill him within a moment's notice. But on a human being…he wouldn't even dare thinking about harming any STORM troops, or Charlemagne, or even Klipse. Going into his thoughts had cost him when Jak knocked the Morph-Gun out of his hands and pinned the boy to the ground, choking him as his helmet fell off, exposing his black hair and short ears.

"Jak, don't do it!" Daxter yelled, trying get his friend back to his senses while also making sure that the kid wouldn't see and hear what was to be a grisly scene.

Jak didn't hear them, raising his hand high, his claws ready to rend. The only thing Chase could do is try to pull Jak's other hand off of his neck, though he froze when he saw the terrible, merciless look Jak had. "JAK STOP!" the teen cried out just as Jak swung at him. Chase shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to see the end that was imminent.

It never came.

He held his breath, eyes still shut. Why wasn't anything happening? Was he dead already? Daring to draw in a breath, he slowly cracked open one eye—

And nearly passed out when he spotted one of Jak's long nails—literally—about to poke through his left eye. In fact, Jak's hand was only a few inches away from Chase's face. He opened his other eye and looked at Jak's pitch-black eyes, who were merely staring at him.

Jak then lowered his arm, his eyes widened somewhat, the hostility slowly fading the longer he started at the black haired boy. "_Chase_?"

Slowly, Jak released his grip, slowly backing away from him, staring at him in growing confusion. Chase sat up, grabbing his helmet, still looking at Jak. The said person's breathing quickened when he caught sight of his hands and the violet electricity rippling over his skin, a panicked sound catching in his throat. Jak fell to his knees, burying his face in his hands as the violet lightning— Dark Eco—sparked around him some more. In a few moments, spores of the same violet light floated off of him, his claws dissolving as his hair, skin, teeth and body returned to normal. The young man took slow, deep breathes, trying to calm himself.

With the danger now over, Daxter released the kid, who moved his face from Kor, and looked around the area his eyes wide.

Chase, meanwhile, slowly pushed himself up to stand, looking over at Jak. Then he approached him, not caring that the others with them had seen his ears. "Jak, are…you okay?"

At first, Jak didn't answer. He slowly removed his hands, his face…blank. Even his eyes were blank. "Something's… happening to me…" He said, before he looked down at his hands. "Something that_ bastard_ did…I-I can't…I can't control it!" He clenched them, tearing his gaze away from them as he forced his eyes to close.

Then, Jak looked up again, and stared at him, as if he had just noticed something. Chase noticed the stare, and instantly knew. "Oh, uh, long story that I'll tell later," he said quickly, slamming his helmet back on. "We better move before any guards show up."

"But, ah," Daxter started. "Where're we gonna go?"

At this, Chase smirked. "I know a place."

* * *

"How is it possible to lose a prisoner?!" the Baron roared, pacing in front of Errol in the main command room.

"I honestly did not expect there to be a few…people to break out the Eco Freak," the orange-haired man explained.

"And around the matter of Jak escaping, how did they managed to get through security?"

"You remember what occurred back a month and a half ago, with the strange energy that had fallen in several places, three being in the city?"

"Ah, yes…one of them being miss Blackwell." He was quiet a moment, the Baron then said, "But what about them?" Then it suddenly hit him. "_She wasn't the only one_!"

"I'm afraid so," the Commander nodded. "And I have reasons to believe that these individuals possess…weapons of some sort."

The Baron gave him a glare. "What weapons?"

"Like one of these," Errol said with a smirk, holding up the blue cylindrical device he had found.

* * *

Torn had a dumfounded look on his face.

Chase rubbed the back of his head in a sheepish manner.

Jak and Daxter gave the man a look.

"Uh…you heard all that, right?" Chase asked.

Torn, after giving them all a look over, gritted his teeth and…

"_SUUUUUNOOOOOOO!"_


	5. Chapter 5

"Suno, this is _by far_ the dumbest thing you've ever done!" Torn ranted, glaring at the controller.

"I couldn't just leave 'em there in that prison!" Chase defended. "And I got the stuff, didn't I?"

The auburn-haired man pinched the bridge of his nose, groaning in annoyance. "You, by far, are the craziest guy I've ever known."

"Listen, we want to see this _Shadow_," Jak spoke up, walking up to Torn. "He's probably the only one who could help us out in this situation."

Torn looked at Jak with a bored expression, and then chuckled coldly. "Not likely." He started walking away.

"Hey, wait—!" Jak cut himself off when the auburn man suddenly pulled out his curved knife and held it at the young man's face, inches from his nose. Daxter yelped, accidentally falling off of his friend's shoulder as Chase jumped, startled. Jak's eyes widened a smidge, but he just glared at the man.

A few, tense, moments went by, everyone not moving where they are. Finally, Torn made an amused grunt, closing his eyes and smirking before he lowered the blade. "You've got spunk," he said, "I like that." He fiddled with his knife, rubbing his knuckles over the flat part of the blade. "If you're as determined as Suno here, then why don't you and your _pet_ head on over to Dead Town. Go to the Ruined Tower and steal the Baron's banner from there and bring it back."

"Sounds simple enough," Daxter commented.

"It's not. There are a few monsters roaming around there, along with the occasional Metal Head." The ottsel gulped audibly. "Alright, we'll bring your banner," Jak sternly responded. Not noticing Daxter's agape mouth, he continued, "I think we can handle a few Metal Heads and beasts."

Torn grunted, nodding a bit until he turned his attention at Chase. "As for you, I'll let you off since you got the guns. _However_, since you freed them…" He jerked his head at Jak and Daxter, the blonde frowning as he crossed his arms as Daxter seemed to growl at him, "Those two are your responsibility! So until the war is over, you are to chaperone them, or until _I_ think they'll be able to handle themselves in the city."

"WHAT!?" Chase nodded solemnly, ignoring Daxter's cry of protest.

"And Suno, you might as well keep the Morph-Gun. You can't rely on those monsters of yours all the time."

* * *

"I can't believe the Tattooed Wonder is making us do this!" Daxter exclaimed, having a pissed-off look on his face. He was sitting on Jak's shoulder, the latter having a bored look on his face. Behind them, Chase was following silently.

"Daxter, calm down—"

"The _first _thing he did is send us on a crappy mission!" Daxter continued on, interrupting Jak, "THEN, he got blue-boy to chaperone us! What are we, _ten-year-olds_?!"

Finally Chase had it. "For the love of Eco…" he muttered, then shouting, "_Will you shut up_?!"

"Hey! Don't tell _me_ what to do!"

Jak palmed his face, exasperated by this argument. He agreed with his friend somewhat, but still—

His thoughts were then cut off as he slammed into something metal. "Who put this here?"

Chase shrugged, and said, "Whoever did, they won't find it here." He said that, but he wasn't really sure—since this was a Flyer, a two-seat Zoomer. He didn't know how to work Flyers. Still, he hopped into one of the seats and turned it on.

"Do you know how to drive this?" Jak asked.

"Uh, no. I only know how to work the Zoomers. This is a Flyer—and the three-seaters are called Cruisers. I don't know how to work those either."

Jak made a bored grunt and got in. As he fiddled with the controls, Daxter went onto his shoulder, and asked, "Uh… Jak, are you sure you could drive this?"

"Yeah." Jak nodded, flipping the lever to the high hover zone. "It's like riding on Keira's A-Grav Zoomer back in Sandover."

Jak, after a few minutes of swerving around in the Flyer to get used to the controls, had gotten used to driving a vehicle that isn't like his friend's yet somewhat like it at the same time. The trio rode in the Flyer in complete silence. It wasn't long until they reached where the map indicated where Dead Town was. "We're here," Jak said, bringing the Flyer down and to a stop. He jumped down first, whereas Daxter jumped off the Flyer and onto his shoulder, and lastly Chase. The three of them jumped down into the pit that was there, and through the double security gates.

The sight of the ruins met them. "Holy crap!" Daxter commented, he and Jak looking around the ruins with wide eyes. "What the hell happened to this place?"

"The Baron happened," Chase responded tersely. He looked around a bit before he spotted a tall building. "That must be the tower."

"Hey, what exactly do you mean by that?" Jak questioned as the two of them hopped across the water, "You know, the 'the Baron happened' thing."

At first, Chase didn't answer. But when they both got onto dry land, he grimaced a bit. "When I came here the first time with another guy from the Underground, he told me that the Metal Heads somehow broke through the walls and attacked this part of the city. The Krimzon Guard got ready to defend the area…until the Baron suddenly pulled them back, behind the _new_ wall, and left almost everyone here to die at the hands of those creatures."

The other two had their eyes widened, in shock, horror, or maybe the combination of the two. Jak gritted his teeth. "That bastard…_why_ would he do something like this!"

"I don't know," Chase said with a shrug, not even flinching at the way Jak worded his sentence. Then he looked at Jak. "You wanted to get back at him, right?"

Jak gazed at him, not saying anything. Then he averted his gaze. That was his answer.

"Okay, I get what you've been through," the Core-Tech leader said. "But…let me ask you—if it got down to it, and…you have the Baron's life in your hands…would you take it?" But before Jak could respond, the teen added, "I'm just saying, killing him isn't the answer! Sure, kicking his ass is good enough but…all I'm telling you is that, if you take the Baron's life…you probably won't be better than him."

Jak grunted. Then he looked at Chase hard. "Let's get something straight here, _Suno_," he growled.  
"All that matters to me to getting back at Praxis! I can stay in this group however long I want, until I do so! Preach to me all you want, but I'm still going to kill Praxis for what he did!" With that, he stalked off, shoving past Chase as he headed over to the tower.

Chase looked after him for half a minute before shaking his head with a sigh. _How different my life is now,_ he thought before following.

* * *

The trio, after a long hour of swinging on poles, jumping off from crumbling platforms, and climbing, were at the top of the tower. All three had been silent after the argument Chase had with Jak, everything had been silent. But it wasn't long until they came to a couple of large columns on top of a large wooden platform. And standing proudly near the edge of the platform was the banner. Jak took hold of the pole and tugged on it. It didn't budge. Gritting his teeth, the green-blond pulled onto the pole with all of his might, groaning as he strained to pull it out. Just as Chase was about to help him, the pole suddenly came free. Jak stumbled a bit before he regained his footing. When he did, he slammed the bottom of the pole down proudly.

"Alright! Mission…" Loud crumbling sounds could be heard from the entire tower, making Chase pause in his cheer. The three of them looked at the platform they were standing on, then at each other. "…clear?"

As soon as he finished the word, the entire platform under them gave away, crumbling as large pieces fell to the water below…taking the trio with it.

Jak quickly evened himself out, holding the pole horizontally, landing feet first onto a shoddy awning, and was launched back into the air and over a few buildings. Followed by Chase, and then Daxter. Both teens managed to land perfectly on a cable, though Chase stumbled a bit, and they began to grind along. Daxter landed on the same cable, but on a…place…before he was launched back up into the air.

After grinding along the cable for a little while, Jak crouched a bit and launched himself off, followed by Chase. Both of them sailed through the air, Jak even doing a flip, before landing perfectly on a spot of land a fair distance away from the Ruined Tower, Jak still holding the banner. "That was a close one," Chase said, wiping some sweat off his forehead—only to have Daxter land in his face.

Behind them, the Ruined Tower's old stones crumbled away in large chunks into the water below. In a few moments, the tower had been completely leveled.

Amazingly, Torn had been right there, too. He stared at the ruins of the Tower, and then said, "I guess you guys are in."

* * *

As soon as they got back to the base, Daxter jumped off of Jak's shoulder with a "WHEW!" He went over to a water pipe and turned toward them. "Being a _big_ hero sure makes ya thirsty!" He pulled the lever down.

Chase grimaced, while Torn glared.

Daxter put his mouth up to the pipe…only to get a mouthful of disgusting black sludge. While Daxter coughed and hacked, Torn said, "The Baron cut off all the water to the Slums. He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives _just_ to take out the Underground." Taking on a thoughtful look, Torn added, "I shouldn't be surprised, really. I've seen his evil before, while serving in the Krimzon Guard. _That's_ why I quit."

The trio of them did a take. "_You_ were a _Krimzon Guard_?"

Jak chuckled. "Well… That explains your…_charming_ sense of humor."

Torn merely rolled his eyes. "Anyway, one of my friends in the Guard tells me the valve to turn the water back on is located _outside_ the city, at the Pumping Station."

"Outside the city?" Jak asked. "What about the security wall?"

"What about the _Metal Heads_?" Daxter cut in. "It ain't no petting zoo out there—peeps be gettin' deep sixed!"

Torn continued on as if he hadn't heard either of them. "Find the large drain pipe in the north wall. It'll take you outside the city to the Pumping Station. Get to the main valve and open it. _If_ you survive, the Slums'll be indebted to you. If not…_maybe_ we'll have a touching moment of silence in your honor."

"I'd love to give _him_ a touching moment," Daxter growled before they left.

* * *

Luckily there was barely any traffic, so the trio managed to get to the Water Slums without much issue. It looked the same as always—buildings sitting on rotten-but-stable bridges, standing on top of some wood that kept them from falling into the dirty water; although the bridges themselves were awkwardly bent, as well as looking downright impossible walk on, the people who lived here, along with the patrolling KG, walked on the bridges no problem.

The houses themselves looked like they've seen better days, all of them looking like tiny piles of wood and scrap metal glued together into very strange shapes; not one of them looked like a square.

Chase led the way into the security corridor. As the first door behind them closed, a silence erupted into the air—the only sound breaking it was the mechanisms of the second door opening.

When the door finally opened, the trio calmly walked through it, coming onto a sandy beach.

Chase looked around; being the first time he'd been there. "So this is the Pumping Station…"

"And that valve is out here somewhere," Jak said, walking ahead.

"Hey uh, Jak?"

"Yeah Daxter?"

The ottsel looked around from where he was on Jak's shoulder. "Does this place seem…familiar?"

Jak studied the area, before saying, "Yeah…kind of like Sentinel Beach in a way."

Puzzled, Chase opened his mouth to ask something—

Before they heard a roar of a Metal Head. They all turned to see a pair of Metal Head Grunts on the platform before they jumped down to the beach and ran at them.

"Oh crap! It's the Metal Heads!" Daxter exclaimed, before hiding behind Jak.

Chase paused, remembering what Torn said. _He's right—I can't rely on Lock all the time here; it'd be bad beyond belief if the KG got a hold of him. So…_ He took out the Morph-Gun from where it was in its holder on his back. He looked at it. _I just pull the trigger, right?_ He did so, and…

_BAM!_

A cone-shaped red blast came out of the barrels, knocking both Metal Heads back—as they had both been about to claw him. The recoil of the shot was strong enough to knock the controller back. "Wow…" he muttered while Jak finished the Metal Heads off.

_This thing might actually be useful._

* * *

After traversing the odds and ends of the station, the trio finally arrived at a valve that was higher up than the others. "Finally…we made it…" Chase said between pants.

"Whew, never thought that we'd be able to find it!" Daxter commented, slumping over Jak's shoulder. Jak, meanwhile, was looking ahead at something. Daxter followed his gaze. "Ah, the valve. Allow me."

He went up to it, and tried to pull it up from under him. No go. He tried to turn it from the front, yet the valve refuses to turn. Then he tried to use his whole body, using his tail as leverage. Still nothing.

Finally, Jak went up and slammed on the valve.

The action, like Newton's Third Law stated, had a reaction—the frequency of the pipe shook the valve, getting it turn for Daxter… who was quite unfortunate to have held onto it as the valve turned with incredible speed. At the same time, the lid, that was over the valve, popped open, letting in some air to get the water running. And Daxter literally flew right _into _the opening, the lid closing after him as he traveled with the air at frightening velocity.

The two teens heard the sounds of Daxter colliding with the sides of the pipes while letting out cries of pain until he had gotten further out, before following quickly.

Back at the entrance, they heard Daxter's muffled voice: "Someone…help…please?" Jak twisted the valve connected to the pipe so that it was open. When he did, Daxter's head popped out. Then the rest of the upper half of his body. Then he was all free—courtesy of a jet of air that blew him out.

Jak closed the valve again, before he and Chase went over to the ottsel.

Chase opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Daxter holding up his hand. "Don't say it," he growled, "Don't even _chuckle_. Next time," he put his hands on the ground and pushed himself up, glaring at them. "_You _turn the valve."


	6. Chapter 6

Once everyone was up and about the next morning, they were greeted by Torn in the meeting room. "Alright, yesterday, you three did a great job of turning the water back on in the Slums." He then chuckled. "I'd _love_ to see the heads roll when the Baron finds out."

"Yeah," Jak piped up sarcastically, "I'm sure he's losing _lots_ of sleep over this _armpit_ of the city."

"Uh, so Torn," Chase put in, wanting to avoid any fights and more trouble, "What's the mission you have in mind for us?"

The auburn haired man rolled his eyes. "Actually, I had this mission in mind for just you, Suno. But because of what they did yesterday, they're bringing their charges with them."

"Say what!" Daxter exclaimed.

"The mission I have in mind is for you guys to take care of an ammo dump we've ID'd in the KG Fortress."

"The _Fortress_?" Chase repeated.

"WHOA! Hold on a _minute_ buster!" Daxter exclaimed, hopping onto the table, "We barely managed to escape with our _lives_ yesterday! Now you're going to send us back there to take care of some ammo?"

"Then ask _him_," Torn jabbed his thumb at Chase. "On how to get in there. How he managed to get _in_ there without being noticed is beyond me."

Chase shrugged. "Dumb luck, I guess."

Torn merely rolled his eyes. "Anyway, even though there are a lot of Krimzon Guards and constant patrols, we _know_ it's vulnerable." He pointed at the section of the map of the KG Fortress, and made a circle around it. "The ammo is around this area of the Fortress, thankfully restricted from the rest of the building. And the Underground needs _you_…" He pointed at Jak and Chase before he swiped his hand back to the table, accidently knocking Daxter across the table as he added, "…to blow up all the ammo you find inside. If you guys managed to get all of it, then we'll be able to deal a body-blow to the Baron," the auburn-haired man finished.

At that, Daxter finally got his head cleared and gave Torn a glare. "You're sending _us_ in, tough guy!" he exclaimed. "So what's with this '_we'll_ deal a body blow' stuff?"

"That's fine," Jak cut in. When everyone turned to look at him, a smirk was threatening to appear on his face. "I _want_ the Baron to know, that it's _me_…" He slammed his fist into his other open palm, "…who's hurting him."

Chase stared at him before shaking his head. "Alright," he said with a sigh, putting his helmet on. "Let's go for it, guys."

"Oh, _great_…" Daxter moaned, before Jak picked him up and the trio left the base.

* * *

"So how are we going to get in there?" Daxter asked once they exited the hideout, the sliding door behind them closing.

"The door I used last time," Chase explained. "Last time there were two guards, but they were easy to distract."

* * *

"Weird," Chase said.

For some odd reason, there were no guards this time. "Hey, it's pretty convenient in my book," Daxter said. _A little _too_ convenient… _Chase thought, suspicious.

Jak groaned in frustration. "Whatever, let's just go in," he said, taking the lead.

So the trio walked up the ramp to the armored door. When they neared it, it opened automatically to let them in, and in the lobby…

…was a big, red _tank_.

"_GYAH!_" they all yelled, hiding behind the door. The tank didn't seem to detect them. So, slowly Chase moved away from the door and walked into the room. Still no reaction from the tank. Jak, too, slowly walked in warily.

"Okay…" Chase muttered, knocking on the side of the tank. He could clearly hear the engine running. "This wasn't here last time…"

Daxter stood up on Jak's shoulder and looked around. "And it doesn't seem like we can find a way to the ammo dump—what about over there?"

Everyone looked over to where Daxter is pointing, seeing that the pathway on the left—Chase noticed there was no electrical field this time.

"Isn't that a _little _suspicious?" Chase said.

Jak rolled his eyes. "Let's just get this over with." He started walking toward the door, and Chase followed a bit slower.

But right as they set foot through the gate…

_"Unauthorized use of Fortress door. Activating security tank."_ The trio froze.

"Uh…did it just say that the tank was gonna get activated?" Chase asked.

"Uh-huh," Daxter said.

"It's the one behind us, isn't it."

"Yep."

They looked over their shoulders and saw the tank's gun point at them. "Aw krag!" Chase yelled before taking off in a run.

The trio ran down a linear path, going through weird pitfalls, managing to dodge laser-guided turrets, and they also ran past surprised Krimzon Guards in their rush to get away from the security tank.

But the thing was tenacious. It managed to find ways to go after them, busting down metal bars that made up the wall, and relentlessly shoot at them. Even when they came into a different room, the tank still burst through the door and followed them.

"UP THERE!" Chase exclaimed, pointing at some large crates near one of the walls that had a ledge connected to the metal walkways above them. They got up just in time, as the tank came into the area…and still it tried to shoot them. Luckily the walkways provided cover from the blasts, but there was another problem. An electrical barrier.

"Great," Chase said. "How in the world are we supposed to turn _that_ off?"

At that moment, Daxter had a sudden epiphany. "Hey! Try breaking those glass containers!" he said helpfully. The two teens looked at each other, and nodded, both smirking. Chase went for the closer one, jumping on some of the moving platforms, and smashing it with his foot; Jak went for the farther one, coming down on top of it. And even when they were through the barrier, the tank was _still _trying to shoot them!

"Holy krag, that thing's persistent," Chase muttered.

After a series of going over a lot more bottomless pitfalls, conveyor belts with spikes on them that required precise timing, moving platforms, and a bunch of Krimzon Guards, they finally came upon a room. Boxes and barrels of every kind were stacked not-so-neatly throughout the room, and large stacks of missiles were set up in corners. In the middle of the room was a humongous missile sticking out of the floor with smaller missiles around it.

Chase grinned. "I take it that's the ammo dump?"

"Yeesh," Daxter exclaimed, looking around the mess, "You'd think that they could clean up a little?"

Jak shook his head, and then his eyes caught sight of something on top of a barrel near him. He picked it up and examined it. "What's this?"

Three heads turned to him, and Daxter perked up. "Hey cool! That's a security pass Jak!" He explained, "With that, we'll be able to go through city checkpoints!"

The blond looked over the card-like device again. Then he smirked, flipped the device and grabbed it again. "Ah, yeah! Now we're getting somewhere!"

A large bang was then heard. After a moment of being on edge, Jak placed a finger to his mouth and shushed everyone. He looked around for the source, and then saw that it came from a large, thick metal grate. He made a "stay there" gesture, and tip-toed over to it, then he peered down. In the room below, two Krimzon Guards and another important-looking guard were standing next to a rather huge pile of barrels. They were facing a large steel pipe, in which a bunch Metal Head Grunts was poised and ready.

"These barrels are the latest shipment of Eco," the important-looking one said. To Jak's surprise, the guard wasn't wearing a helmet, revealing that it was a _girl_. She had shoulder-length ginger-colored hair and sky-blue eyes, as well as a few freckles. She also had blue-gray face paint, like Torn's. "The Baron says take them and _get out_!"

In response to this hostility, the Metal Heads growled and took a few menacing steps toward them. The Krimzon Guard readied their rifles in return. After a few moments of tense silence, the Metal Heads seemed to have lost their hostility; they backed down a bit before they started to take the Eco with them. Satisfied by this, the guards left the room.

The other two looked down to see this, while Jak muttered, "Metal Heads _in the city_? Why are the guards giving them _Eco_…?"

"And why would they do that if the Metal Heads are the enemy?" Chase put in, though he looked…distracted.

"I don't know!" Daxter snapped quietly, "I'm not the one who came up with this!"

The controller shook his head. "Praxis is just digging himself into a pit he's not gonna get out of."

Then they heard something next to them. They looked towards the source, seeing _another_ security tank being activated and pointed its twin turrets at the trio. They stood there for another moment, even as a red targeting reticle bathed the whole group in red light.

Then they all shouted "Oh (BLEEP)!"

Daxter let out a panicked scream as the trio quickly started running, Daxter quickly getting back onto his partner's shoulder. As they ran, the targeting reticle followed them before stopping to fire. The resulting blasts of Eco destroyed a bunch of crates that had been in the way.

The two running quickly separated, Jak hiding behind a missile near the wall as Chase quickly hid behind a missile near the valve connected to the larger missile. To the teen's misfortune, the tank decided to try to take out the Core-Tech leader first. As the reticle targeted Chase's hiding area in red light, Jak took notice and did a take.

"Chase, get out of there!" he exclaimed.

"Wha'—?" The controller noticed the red light and he quickly ran out of the way in time before the tank shot at the missiles. Including the valve, with pressurized smoke starting to rise rapidly from the empty space, and an alarm went off.

Daxter then seemed to have an epiphany. "Hey, let use this thing to blow up the ammo dump _for_ us!"

Jak grinned at his friend. "You're a genius Daxter!" he praised his friend, before he quickly put the plan in use. "Hey, over here!" he called out, waving to get the tank's attention. It worked, the turrets turning their attention towards the duo, before Jak quickly ran off to the other valve connected to the warhead. Predictably, the tank fired upon him and, with Jak dashing out of the way, ended up taking out the second valve.

"Come get me!" Chase then yelled at the tank, and it got the tank's attention, like he intended.

The tank continued to move around the missile, doing its best to fire upon the moving targets but failing. There were a couple of times where the tank failed to hit a valve, but such mistakes were soon corrected without either Jak or Chase getting shot.

Finally, the fourth valve was destroyed, and the room's lights changed to a warning red. _"Danger. Warhead detonation imminent. Evacuate immediately."_

"Well _thanks_ for stating the obvious!" Daxter sarcastically exclaimed, just as a door in the back of the room opened up.

"And there's our exit!" Chase exclaimed, he and Jak immediately bolting for it, and Daxter got on his own feet to hightail it out even faster.

The smoke was coming out fast enough to envelop the whole missile in seconds, and the trio focused solely on running out. As they reached the doorway, both Jak and Chase prepared to jump—

But the warhead chose that moment to explode, and the resulting force blew all three out of the doorway with a fireball right behind them. Around the area, most of the people ran off as an explosion took place.

The trio all were knocked temporarily senseless as soon as they hit the ground. Chase groaned, rubbing his forehead. "That was tense," he said finally after exchanging a look with Jak, who had a weird look. Chase looked around. "Where did Daxter—?"

At that moment, Jak stood up, revealing Daxter, who was comically flattened. He lifted his head, and to Jak, he said, "This place has too much excitement. We need to go back to the country."

* * *

Daxter hopped onto the central table, declaring, "The Trio of Terror has returned! One BBQ'd ammo dump, served up hot!"

After Daxter had fully peeled himself off of the ground, the trio had returned to the Underground HQ, where they found Torn with his back to them, looking over his curved knife.

Said man, upon hearing Daxter, rolled his eyes and said nothing, looking more at his knife.

Jak decided to speak up to change the subject. "We saw something odd while torching that ammo," he reported. "The Baron's guards were giving barrels of _Eco _to a group of _Metal Heads_!"

Torn looked over his shoulder in surprise. "Really!" This finally caused him to face the three properly. "The Shadow will be _very_ interested to hear that."

Jak then added, "And one of the guards looked…_important_."

"Describe them."

"Ginger hair, blue eyes, freckles."

At this, Chase froze—a suspicion being confirmed—while Torn said, "That was one of my friends: Commander Blackwell."

Chase then interjected, "_And_ one of _my_ friends! That was Jinja!"


	7. Chapter 7

Before anyone else could say anything, Daxter cut in, "Y'know, so far, _your_ gigs have been easier than stealing _grass_ from a sleeping yakkow."

Jak shook his head disapprovingly, while Chase snickered. "So you and the rodent want to start proving yourselves?" Torn said with a chuckle. "One of our…_suppliers_ needs his payment delivered—a bag of Eco Ore." He reached for a box by his feet and pulled out the said large brown cloth bag, filled with something that made it a bit lumpy.

He tossed the bag at Jak, who barely managed to catch it. "Take the Zoomer parked out back and drive it to the Hip-Hog Heaven Saloon in South Town. Ask for a guy named Krew—he'll be there. And _don't_ let the Baron's patrols stop you. And when you get to the Hip-Hog, pump Krew for information. He's wired into the city, and may know what the Baron is up to."

"_You_ can _count_ on _us_!" Daxter declared confidently.

"Are you still here?"

Chase took out the security pass, and after examining his communicator a bit, found a slot that the pass could fit into. He slipped it in, and the communicator beeped, indicating that it had registered the other device. He nodded before looking at the other two. "Let's go for it."

* * *

"TURN LEFT! THE _OTHER_LEFT!" Daxter screamed, gripping Jak's head with a death grip. Behind them, a lot of KG Zoomers tried to shoot and/or ram them.

A while ago, they crossed the border that blocked them from the Industrial Zone from the Slums, and soon after that, the KG were on their asses. There were even _blockades_ trying to stop them!

So Jak had to make the brown Flyer fly as fast as it could go, trying to make them as hard to hit as possible. It was difficult at first, but the trio managed to make it into the official South Town area.

Chase took the main controls, giving a quick glance around the area, before he quickly returned his attention to his driving. He drove over the large expanse of water in the semicircular port, heading toward their destination.

"INCOMING KG AT TWO O'CLOCK!" Daxter exclaimed, pointing at the upper corner of his right. Fast as Boost, Chase flicked the lever and went into the low hover zone, causing the KG Zoomer to smash into another KG Zoomer, causing both to explode. _These guys are _really_ persistent!_

He then saw a building with a sign over it—was that a Hip-Hog? Smirking, he gunned the Flyer some more, making it go at top speed. As they approached, the KG appeared to be letting them off, probably realizing that they were merely doing a deliver for this "Krew" person.

So once Jak had gotten the bag of Eco Ore, they walked through the door. "You think this is the place?" he asked.

Chase shrugged, while Daxter said, "It better be!" Jak grunted a bit, looking around some more before he shifted his eyes to the other occupant he hadn't noticed before. "Lemme handle this one, Jak," Daxter piped in, grinning. Watch my _finesse_ and _style_." He jumped off of Jak's shoulder, taking the bag.

"Don't forget about—" Chase started.

"Everything's cool," Daxter declared, cutting him off. "Nobody panic." He hefted the bag over his shoulder and walked over to the man. "Hey there, big guy." He waved at the man before stepping through the armored man's legs.

Daxter was gone from sight and—

_Holy krag! Is that even a person?!_

The armored guy moved out of the way and both Chase and Jak did double takes. Neither of them had _ever_ seen anyone so _unbelievably_ fat! The guy actually had to stay in a hoverchair!

Daxter must've been shocked as well, and due to the small silence, his ears lowered a bit. Then he spoke up, "Uh…you Krew?" He cleared his throat, and he sounded confident when he added, "Well, we shook the heat, and your shipment's in _primo_ condition."

The fat guy—apparently Krew, grinned and replied, "That's good, ey, because a cargo of rare Eco Ore is worth more than _five_ of _all_ your lives."

Chase bit back a grimace as Krew slowly hovered toward him and Jak. Both of them backed up a little and put on glares.

Krew let out a thoughtful grunt, tapping his chin a bit, saying, "And of course, I'd be forced to collect… _slowly_."

Chuckling, he began to hover around both of them, not minding them glaring back at the obese man without losing any ground. "Of course, the Underground will take _anyone_ with a pulse these days." Daxter then jumped onto Jak's shoulder plate, and Krew immediately took notice. "And what do we have here…? The Shadow's mascot of the month?"

Krew scratched the ottsel's chin and rubbed the fur on top of his head. "Ooh, soft…" Krew noted as he moved back, with Daxter sticking out his tongue a bit in disgust. Glancing at the armored man, he said, "Sig, this fur would go well with my silk suits, ey?"

"Uh, listen, eh, _tons_ of _fun_," Daxter cut in nervously, prompting everyone to look at him, "Anyone can see that…you, uh, and I have the real juice in this 'burg…"

Chase blinked and gave a confused look at Jak, Krew, and Sig, who just gave confused looks in return. Yet Daxter didn't seem to notice as he kept nervously rambled on, sinking lower and lower behind Jak with each sentence. "We're both players, right?" We're both lookin' for a piece of the action, right? I think we can do business…right?"

Chase facepalmed. "Look, we did _you_ a favor!" he exclaimed, already having enough of Daxter's _finesse_ and _style_; and none of them didn't even hear the door open as he added, "Now it's your turn to do _us_ a favor. _Why_ is the Baron giving _Eco_ to Metal Heads?"

The person who came in immediately looked a mixture of disbelieving and shocked.

Krew's face managed to get even uglier with his rage. "Questions like that could get a person _killed_, ey!" He shouted, closing in on the teen menacingly.

Chase gritted his teeth and brought up his arms in a defensive stance—

Until a voice exclaimed "_Lil' Suno?!_" All eyes turned to the source to see a dark-skinned teen, roughly Chase's age, wearing a blue cap and a black jacket over a green shirt, holding a red-black box.

"_Dax?_" Chase exclaimed.

The Core-Tech leader didn't bother noting Daxter's expression at this. An awkward silence filled the Hip-Hog as everyone pretty much stared at each other. Krew backed away from Chase, holding his arms out above him. "Ah, Dax, just the boy I wanted to see! You've just come in at the right time."

Dax looked a little shocked about who he was seeing after two years, and then shook his head. "Right, well, I got the goods. Almost got myself looking like Swiss cheese in the process."

Sig took the box and opened it, pulling out…a Morph-Gun, coming with a strap-and-pouch combo. Krew looked quite pleased. "Excellent!" He seemed to consider something. "In fact…" he muttered before he looked over at Jak. "You," he said, pointing his fan at the blue clad young man, "What is your name?"

The green/blonde narrowed his eyes. "Jak," he said, evenly.

"And you?"

"Chase."

Krew smirked. "Very well, Jak. I see Chase already has a Morph-Gun, so I believe you deserve…a bonus. Sig," he added, looking at the armored man with a pointed look. Sig seemed to catch onto something, and nodded before he slowly advanced on Jak. Jak backed up a bit, and then glanced up at him as he held out the gun.

The blond looked over the gun before he made an evil grin. He chuckled evilly. "Hell yeah…" he muttered.

"Now," Krew's voice brought their attention back to him as he continued, "If you want to see what this baby can do, try the Gun Course outside. Show me some skill with that hardware, and I'll hire you for a job or two, ey?"

Still grinning evilly, Jak shared a look with Daxter, who gave him an evil grin back, before the duo quickly left the Hip-Hog.

And after they left, Chase grabbed Dax by the shoulder, saying, "One minute please," and dragged the Lowlander outside, before shoving him against the wall. "Alright, spill it."

Dax put his hands up in defense. "Chill, mate! Sig saved my hide out at the Pumping Station; what else could I do? If he hadn't, I'd've been Metal-meat!" He quickly changed the subject. "So, Suno…what've you been doing?"

"Underground work."

"Any news on the others?" His voice was significantly lower as he said this.

Chase hesitated before saying, "Bren and Beyal—no idea. As for Jinja…well, you know how the KG has a third Commander?"

Dax stared a few moments. "Princess—KG Commander? Why am I not surprised?" he muttered. He then looked at Chase, and said, "Hey Suno, d'you have a Blaster mod for that piece of hardware?"

"No…I just have a Scatter mod."

"Well, here." He tossed a piece of what appeared to be an end of a gun, with one large barrel and a laser sight beneath it to Chase.

He looked over it, and said, "So this is a Blaster mod?"

"Yeah. Just stick it onto the business end and let it do the rest."

With a shrug, Chase did as he was told, and immediately, the weapon subtly compacted and changed shape. The red disc-like ammo cartridge became a yellow cylindrical container, the base of the gun extended outward, and the laser sight powered on.

"Whoa, sick!" he exclaimed, examining it. A second ago it had been a shotgun. Now it was a rifle. What would this world show him next?

"One more thing," Dax said, tapping one part of his own Morph-Gun, directing Chase's attention to four small buttons. The top one was red, and the bottom was yellow. The other two, on the left and right, were a dull gray. He tapped the red one on his own, and his compacted into the Scatter mod. "That's how you switch. Just make sure you have ammo."

* * *

Jinja couldn't help but shudder as she stood by Baron Praxis' side in the palace, Errol stood stiff as a statue on his other side. But the controller's gaze was fixed on a hologram of a monster's head. But not just _any_ monster: the leader of the Metal Heads.

"Have your underlings obtained the latest shipment of the Eco?" The Baron asked it.

_"Not all of it,"_it grunted, _"Before they could get the rest, the whole area was blown to oblivion. Taking most of my underlings with it."_

"_What?_" all of them exclaimed.

_"You seemed surprised,"_ it noted, taking in their expressions.

"It's nothing," the Baron said quickly, waving his hand to dismiss it. "I assure you, I will make it up with the next shipment of Eco!"

The Metal Head Leader seemed to narrow its eyes at the taller man. _"My patience grow thin, my dear Baron. If you don't live up to your promise, there _won't_ be a city next time."_

Jinja's eyes narrowed, and she opened her mouth to say something—

When Praxis cut her off. "It won't happen."

The hologram of the Metal Head Leader's head nodded. _"Until next time,"_the hologram said, before it blinked out.

When it did, the Baron turned to his third Commander. "How the hell did that part of the fortress get _destroyed_?!" he demanded, glaring death at the 18-year-old.

"S-Sir, I honestly have no idea how it happened." She noted that Errol was smirking, clearly enjoying this. "I don't believe that it was the Metal Heads who did this, however."

Praxis audibly growled. "The damn Underground…Torn must be all over this…"

Of course Jinja knew who Torn was. Not only was he a newer friend, the ex-Commander had quit the Krimzon Guard ever since _that _incident. Namely, how "Dead Town" got its name.

"By the way, Commander Blackwell…" The Baron's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "I have an assignment. Bring some troops up to the Drill Platform, and round up the people that Errol's found up there. Actually, I'll have Errol accompany you."

Jinja nodded. But right as she turned to leave the room, Errol said, "Jinja. I believe you've been hiding something from us."

She turned and gave him a narrow-eyed look. "What are you talking about?"

"You should know…" To her horror, he held up Charger's core.

"What is that, exactly?" the Baron growled. "Do you know?"

The Core-Tech controller-turned-commander took a deep, shuddery breath. No choice now…she had to spill it.

* * *

As soon as the quartet returned from the Gun Course—as Dax had made a bet that he could get a higher score on the Blaster course than Chase, of which the former actually lost—Krew floated over to them. "Excellent shooting you three," he praised. Turning his attention to Jak and Chase, he asked, "Ever thought about being Wastelanders, hmm?"

"Can't say I have," Jak said, while Chase shook his head.

"Wastelanders find items from outside the city walls, ey," Krew explained. "Any artifact or weapon worth having comes through _my_ hands." He clenched his pudgy hand as he said this. He added, "Work for me, and I'll throw some of the sweeter items your way, hm?"

Jak stroked his goatee as he thought about it, making a thoughtful hum. "Let's see…kill Metal Heads…get toys of mass destruction…" He smirked. "Sounds good to me."

Chase shrugged. "I don't see any point in saying no."

Daxter suddenly popped up on Jak's shoulder. "Whoa! _Slow down_, Jak, Chase, and the fat man! You three had better run that by me _again_, 'cause there's _no way_ I'm going outside the city again to face more Metal Heads!"

Dax chuckled. "Sorry to burst your bubble, weasel, but boss here really doesn't care about your concerns."

And as if to prove the Lowlander's point, Krew said, "Sig will show you the ropes." Then he floated away to let the dark skinned man take charge.

As Daxter shook his head in dismay, Sig crossed his arms and grinned at the other two. "So _you_ two wanted to be Wastelanders, huh doughboys?"

"Uh…"

"Well, we'll see what you're made of when we get out in the thick," Sig cut off whatever Jak was going to say. "And by 'we' I meant that literally," He patted Dax on the shoulder, adding, "Because Dax here is what you might call my apprentice. He's still a bit green around gun work, but he makes up for it by doin' his best."

Jak raised a brow, while Chase said, "Really?" Dax shrugged in response.

"Anyways," Sig decided to change the subject, getting right to the point by saying, "Krew wants some new trophies to put butts in chairs at the Hip-Hog. So I'm gonna bag him five _nasty_ Metal Heads at the Pumping Station," Sig finished, grinning as he clenched his hand a bit when he said "nasty." Daxter audibly gulped.

"Don't wet your fur, chili pepper," Sig assured the ottsel, his grin turning mad, "'Cause we're rolling with the Peace Maker!" With that, he hefted up his heavy rifle for them to see, patting it a bit. From what Jak, Daxter, and Chase could see, the barrel underneath the Metal Head skull looked _very_ powerful.

"Whoa, cool!" Daxter exclaimed, his fears all but forgotten in an instant. "I need to get me one o' those!" He used his hand to try to cover his mouth as he asked in a lowered tone, "Where'd you get it?"

"_Don't ask_," Krew cut in, flying back into the conversation circle. "Sig needs somebody to watch his back while he hunts Metal Heads, ey?"

Chase cleared his throat. "Well, with both of us helping, I'm sure it'll get done a lot faster."

Sig nodded. "Much obliged, Chase." To all of them, he added, "We'll meet at the Pumping Station. Now, don't leave us dangling in the wind out there if _any_ of you have the nerve to be late."

* * *

It was some shouts from the camp that got Charlemagne's attention. "Not again," Trey muttered, standing from where they were watching the city. Jeredy was also nearby—it was a rule that he was near at least two Elites, as it would be very bad if those _things_ got to him.

What they saw made her eyes widen in shock.

* * *

Jinja completely hated what she was doing. She had Whipper out, snarling at the STORM soldiers. Errol's Monsuno was also growling at them. It looked fearsome—it was a hybrid of two creatures: a crocadog and a kangarat. It had the build of a crocadog, except it had longer legs, black claws, and black spines on its back. Not to mention protruding fangs. Its markings and eyes glew silver.

Not to mention the other Krimzon Guards had surrounded the soldiers in a circle formation, rifles ready to fire.

Apparently they knew they were beat, since they weren't even shooting.

Something made Jinja glance up…and she noticed Charlemagne and Trey watching in shock, along with—Jeredy.

* * *

Jeredy was in a state of shock. _Why is Jinja with them?!_ True, she was a bit taller and her hair was suddenly shorter, but he'd still recognize her anywhere.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Charlemagne tense, and he reacted just in time—he grabbed her shoulder just as she was about to start down there. "Let go!" she hissed.

"No," he said firmly. "You'll just get caught too."

"H-he has a point, Commandant," Trey said, though it clearly pained him to do so—the other commander, named Zoey, was actually his sister. That, or…

He sighed heavily before saying, "I hope you realize that's Jinja."

"Wha'…?" Trey looked hard, blinked a few times, and then paled a bit. Jeredy shook his head, exasperated. Charlemagne merely looked severely annoyed.


	8. Chapter 8

"You blokes are late," Dax said with a playful smirk.

"Most of us wanted to look nice for their first impression," Chase said with mock annoyance.

The Lowlander gave the other teen an incredulous look. "Jeez Suno, when did you get to be sarcastic?"

The said boy crossed his arms. "I've been hanging out with two very sarcastic people."  
"Hey," Daxter piped up, giving Chase an accusing look. "Are you accusing us for something?"

Chase put his hands behind his head. "Maybe."

Sig then broke up the conversation by motioning them over to his side. Once they did, he gestured to the Juice Goon Metal Heads wondering about.

"Juice Goons…?" Dax muttered. "I _hate_ those things. They're the ones that almost toasted me on day one."

Sig nodded. "Alright you guys," he said, his voice low so that the Metal Heads wouldn't hear him. "There might be more of them around here, so stay on your guard. The best way to get rid of them is from the distance."

Chase took the hint, taking out his Morph-Gun and switching it to the Blaster mod. Taking careful aim, he shot, hitting one of them smack on the Skull Gem. As the others looked at their fallen comrade in shock, a few more shots went out, hitting them and killed them after a couple more shots.

Sig nodded. "Great work, rookie," he said, standing up and grabbing his rifle. "Now let's go! We've got some Metal Heads to hunt!"

Jak grinned savagely, cocking his Morph-Gun. "Now we're getting somewhere!"

* * *

"Things are going pretty good so far," Chase commented as they traversed some large rocks. The group had taken out four of the Metal Heads Sig needed to take out—namely, the big, quadruped Spyder Gunners. So far, everything was going well; and not a thing had even _touched_ Sig.

As the group touched down onto the next part of the beach, under a bridge, Dax said, "Man, did you _see_ how that Metal Head was _owned_? _Damn_! It was on the other side of the beach on that cliff, too!"

"Yeah," Jak nodded, in higher spirits than before. "I have to admit, that was pretty badass."

The banter was cut short as they were suddenly ambushed by a lot of animals and a few Juice Goons. Cursing, Sig open fired on them as Jak, Chase, and Dax split off to do the same. However, a few shots after, an odd clicking sound replaced the Red Eco shots. "Huh?" Sig tried again, and then swore violently. "My gun's jammed!"

Chase cursed under his breath. "Perfect timing," he muttered sarcastically.

While whacking one Juice Goon with his Blaster, Dax said, "Hang on! We'll cover ya!" They did just that as Sig fiddled with his gun.

After a minute, Sig pounded the bottom of his gun onto the ground, and something clicked in place within the weapon. "Alright! The Peace Maker is back online!" he declared.

It wasn't long until the four of them completely obliterated their enemies. Once the area was clear, Sig let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks for saving my ass back there," he said, grinning at the boys. "That was close."

"No problem," Chase said. Sig chuckled and the group continued down the path again.

They came to the end of the beach, and the man pointed at something at the cliff above them. The four looked up and saw a Spyder Gunner on top of a small cliff.

"There's our last target," Sig announced. Kneeling down, he began charging up the Peach Maker. "You guys know the drill by now."

The three others kicked, punched, whacked away, and shot at the oncoming animals that came from the water, keeping them at bay.

Then a thunderous _POP_ went off, and they turned to see Sig do in the last Metal Head, the man cheering as it toppled into the water. "BOOM! Home team five, Metal Heads nothin'!" He turned to them. "Tell Krew we got 'em all cooked and canned. I'm gonna clean Peace Maker and pick up the trophies." He gave Jak and Chase a critical look, and then said, "You two did well, for a couple of youngsters. C'mon Dax."

"See you around, Chase," the dark-skinned teen said before following Sig down the shore.

Just as the three were about to turn back toward the city, Jak froze. "What's wrong?" Chase asked.

"I…" The blond blinked. Then, he said, "We need to go to the Water Slums. I don't know why—it just feels important."

* * *

"Is this it?" Chase asked, looking over their destination critically. They stood in front of a lone stone building.

"Yeah." Jak opened the door, and Chase followed him in. As soon as they entered the single, spacious room that had what looked to be a hundred small lit candles…

Daxter's eyes went wide. "Oh no!" he moaned, "I can't believe there's one of _them_ in a city, of all places!"

Chase looked at him oddly, before looking at the object in question. The majority of the candles surrounded a giant golden statue. Jutting out from a rounded, squarish base was a big round skull with large eyes and nose sockets, with a funnel-like mouth coming down to the floor. A bright blue glow filled every opening with light. "You guys know what this is?"

"Know it?" Daxter repeated incredulously. "We met plenty of these Oracles back on our first adventure—and we had to give them _exactly_ one-hundred-twenty Precursor Orbs just for one little Power Cell!"

"Uh…" Chase had no idea what a Power Cell was, but he knew that it must have been torture to find _that _many Precursor Orbs.

Then, the statue _spoke_. _"Greetings,_ _hero. I see that you have brought one of the Five with you. But I sense a great and terrible darkness within you. In time, it will consume and destroy you."_

Chase's eyes widened, and he turned to see Jak's eyes widen as well. The Oracle continued, _"Only the last power of the Precursors can save you."_

"Then… can you help him?" Daxter asked, going onto the floor to look up at the statue. "I don't think Jak can hold off Darkie any longer! And when he comes out…"

Chase finished. "It isn't pretty."

_"I see."_ The Oracle was silent a few moments. The three of them exchanged glances, and then looked back at the Oracle.

Then, out of nowhere, a bolt of violet electricity shot out of the statue's mouth and stabbed into Jak's chest. His startled/pained cry was caught in his throat as he placed his hands over his chest, and was lifted into the air.

"Jak!" Chase exclaimed, and then looked at the Oracle. "What the krag are you doing?!"

_"Be calm," _it told him, as the electricity poured from its mouth and into Jak, making him slowly change into his darker half. _"I am merely modifying the half infected by Dark Eco."_

As soon as it finished talking, the dark half of Jak dropped onto the ground, hunched over and growling. Chase and Daxter stayed as still as the Oracle, not wanting a repeat of what had happened last time Jak went Dark.

The other side of Jak just… stood there for a moment. Slowly, it raised its head…

And blinked. The dark side of Jak looked around a bit before looking at its hands, wriggling its fingers, one at a time.

_"There," _the Oracle said, getting everyone's attention. _"The darkness within you is under control. However, to _truly_ gain control of it, you must bring me twenty-five of the Metal Head Skull Gems. Return when you have enough, young channelers…"_

Once the silence settled into the room once more, both Chase and Daxter looked hard at Jak's Dark self. "Jak? That still you?" Chase finally asked.

Surprisingly, it—he—nodded.

Slowly, Chase went up to Dark Jak, and held out a hand. "So, no hard feelings?"

Dark Jak looked at his hand for a bit and reached out to grasp it—

When he flinched and clutched his head, before sliding his hands to his face, covering it as he returned to normal. Jak moved his hands and shook his head a bit. "So, uh…you feelin' better, buddy?" Daxter asked, jumping onto Jak's shoulder.

"Yeah. A bit."

Chase sighed in relief. "That's good. Now we better hustle back to Krew before he has a heart attack or something."

* * *

Soon they arrived at the entrance to the saloon. As soon as they walked in, they saw Krew floating near a portrait above the bar, seemingly looking at it.

"We're back," Chase called up.

Krew turned to the trio. "Ah, I see that your mission with Sig and Dax went well, ey?"

"Yep. They've been 'cooked and canned' as Sig put it; they both stayed to collect 'em."

The crime lord looked pleased by what he heard. "Excellent, excellent! The three of you have shown yourselves to be useful! Now, I have a job for you boys. The sewers used to be a fabulous smuggling route for me…before the Baron installed those damned security devices."

"And before those late night snack runs kept you from fittin' out the front door," Daxter remarked cautiously.

Jak seemed unwilling to just get down to business, considering the frown Krew made. "Yeah, I bet you've hatched another _brilliant _plan in that hungry little brain of yours. So, who or what do we need to shake down, knock out, or blow up?"

Chase decided to just watch the show.

Krew didn't look fazed by the ridicule. "Well…" he said in a playful manner, "I need _someone_ to go down there and shoot every sentry gun in the sewers. And I'll give you a sweet weapon upgrade if you succeed."

"Let me guess…" Daxter said with a sigh, rolling his eyes. "Dank, murky water?"

Krew nodded.

"Reeks worse than your breath at an oyster fest?" the ottsel continued.

The crime lord visibly caught onto where Daxter was going with this, as Chase's eyes widened.

"Full o' Metal Heads than your plate at a one-pass buffet?" Daxter ranted, his tone growing more and more irate. "And of course, weapons more lethal than your _ever-so-tighty-whiteys_," the Ottsel took hold of Krew's pants and shook them a bit before letting go, "On a hot summer day!?"

Krew was glaring at Daxter with unmitigated fury at this point.

"_Look_, donut hole," Daxter said, crossing his arms rather snottily, "Why don't _we _float around here looking hot and heavy, and _you_ go roto-root the pipes!?"

"We're not doing anything until you tell us why the Metal Heads are trading with the Baron's forces!" Jak added, crossing his own arms as well.

Chase was about to say something, when Krew suddenly got close to Jak's face. "I should've had you two knee-capped, ey!" He shouted at them, making both Jak and Chase flinch back. "All I know is that the Baron cut a desperate deal with the Metal Head leader."

"What deal?" Chase asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The Metal Heads need Eco," the crime lord explained, "So the Baron supplies them with regular shipments." He turned back to them, adding, "In return, the Metal Heads agreed to attack the city _just enough_ to satisfy the Baron's continued rule."

_So _that's_ why? Just to make sure he stays in charge?_ Chase thought, disgusted.

Apparently Jak and Daxter felt just as horrified."Yeah," Jak rolled his eyes, "But how long can _that_ deal last?"

Krew thought about it for a moment. "Well, the Baron is running short on Eco, eh. And the Metal Heads are short on patience! Baron Praxis _needs_ this war to keep in power. Otherwise, the city would put the true ruler on the throne…wherever that little _brat_ is." He clenched his hand a bit when he muttered the last part.

Jak turned back to the crime lord. "Alright, we'll clear your sewers," he said, "_And_ we haven't forgotten about that weapons upgrade you promised in return."

Chase never thought he'd see anyone as angry as Krew then. "_Bloodsuckers_."

* * *

"_Ugh_," Chase groaned. He and Jak had blown all four turrets, at the price of reeking. Badly. Heck, the controller had almost lost his lunch as soon as they went down there!

After "borrowing" a Flyer, it hadn't been long before they were at the Hip-Hog. When they entered, Krew was already inside waiting for them.

The absurdly-fat crime lord floated near the bar, fanning himself. When the trio approached, he took a sniff and said, "What _is_ that horrible smell?" He took a couple more sniffs.

Chase's left eyelid twitched. "We were just down in the sewers," he spat. "What do you _think_ we would smell like?!"

"Yeah!" Daxter added. "We do your _dirty work_ in the Sewers and we all come back smelling worse than a wet Hip-Hog in a warm barn!"

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, though, he took a sniff of himself and nearly fell over at how bad he smells. Leaning in towards the other two, he muttered, "This could have a serious impact on the lady factor."

Jak rolled his eyes, clearly holding back a chuckle.

"Anyway," Krew started, turning away from them. "Nice work in the sewers, ey? I guess you're looking for that weapon upgrade, hmmm. Well, there's a Blaster mod stashed in some crates at the Gun Course." He let out a rather sinister chuckle before he floated up into some unknown compartment above the saloon.

The so-dubbed Trio of Terror stood there for a moment. "_O-kay_…don't you guys find that a bit unnerving?" Daxter asked.

Jak and Chase nodded silently.

The three of them went straight for the Gun Course, and Jak found the Blaster mod in a lone crate that had been sitting in the middle of the room.

Jak picked up the Blaster mod and attached the barrel to the end of his Morph-Gun. It subsequently changed to fit the modification.

"Cool!" the ottsel marveled as he and Jak looked over the weapon, impressed. Smirking, Jak twirled the gun and stared down the sight towards a wall, the gun locking and loading into place with a satisfying _click_.

After looking down at the laser sight, Jak and Daxter looked at each other, grinning evilly as the ottsel rubbed his hands together with glee. "That Baron guy better watch out now!" Daxter said, "'Cause we'll be shooting this thing right up his—"

The communicator beeped before Daxter could finish. "Huh," Chase muttered, as Jak took it out and pressed a button to let the call go through.

_"WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU THREE?!"_ Torn's voice shouted. _"YOU, SUNO, THAT SQUIRREL GET YOUR ASSES BACK HERE ON THE DOUBLE! NOW!"_

The call was then dropped. All three of them comically sweatdropped. "Uh…" Chase said. "I think we better get back now."

* * *

The sound of two people screaming their heads off was clearly heard in both the Industrial Zone and the Slums at that time. A teal-eyed raven-haired teenager with an orange ottsel clinging tight to his hair was hanging on to dear life as the driver—a blue-eyed blond—flew a Flyer at speeds thought impossible for the two-seated vehicle. Jak weaved through the crowd, almost hit some of the other Zoomers and into buildings, and even switched hover zones in his haste to get back to the Underground HQ.

"WOO-HOO!" Jak cheered, pumping his fist a bit.

"WE'RE GONNA DIE!" Daxter yelled, his eyes shut tightly.

Chase didn't trust himself to say anything, although he'd admit that one choice word did slip out.

After a few minutes, they finally arrived at the HQ. Jak hopped off of the Flyer first, chuckling a bit. Chase followed shakily, Daxter still refusing to get off of his head. Said ottsel was shuddering from the experience. All three of them pulled their goggles up/down, Jak took Daxter, and they went in.

They saw Torn pacing back and forth, looking incredibly pissed off.

Thinking of what words to say carefully, Chase started, "We got the information out of Krew today. It turns out that the Baron struck a deal with the Metal Heads."

Jak continued with, "The Baron agreed to give the Metal Heads a certain amount of Eco; and in return, the Metal Heads agreed to attack the city just enough for him to continue ruling."

Torn just shook his head before facepalming. "Great. Just great."

Chase stayed quiet. Jak and—shockingly—Daxter did as well. It went on like that for a few minutes. Torn then started, "One of the Baron's mining operations is under attack by the Metal Heads."

"Wait, _what?_" Chase exclaimed, totally shocked at what he heard.

"Why the hell are you telling us this?" Jak asked, narrowing his eyes, "What goes on with the Baron is not _our_ problem."

Suddenly Torn bashed the table, and the trio jumped in surprise. "It _is_ our problem when the foremanis one of the Underground's best informants!" he snapped.

"Okay," Chase muttered. "That changes it."

Torn sighed a bit, composing himself. "The foreman's name is Vin, and he's just as valuable enough to save," he explained, "Find the warp gate at the Power Station and use it to travel to the Strip Mine so you can rescue Vin's pathetic hide, because if the Underground loses him, we would have no idea what the Baron would be up to."

"And…" Chase said. "I take it you want us to go there and rescue him." Torn nodded, earning a sigh from the teen. "Like I thought."

Daxter scowled. "Hey, Tattooed Wonder!" he yelled, "How come _we _get all the crappy missions?"

Torn marched over to Daxter and got in his face. "Because _I…don't…like…you_!" he hissed, pausing for emphasis on each word, getting closer to Daxter on each word as well, and making the ottsel balance precariously at the edge of the table; and when he said the last part, he pushed Daxter off of the table. Chase couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

"Fair enough," Daxter said simply, picking himself up.

"Whatever deal the Baron made with the Metal Heads, the city's Eco is almost gone, and his time is running out. If we don't get the kid back on the throne soon, there may not be a city left to defend." Torn sighed after saying this. Chase's eyes narrowed. _If the city runs out of Eco…I don't want to think about what would happen._

* * *

During the ride, for about the millionth time, Chase could not get the matters of his friends out of his head. _I know Jinja's safe…as safe as a KG Commander can be. Dax…well, Sig'll keep him alive. But I still don't know where Bren or Beyal are…_ A queer look came across his face. _And the ones from STORM, too. _Chase didn't like them, but not even they deserved to be killed by Metal Heads. _…and dad._

He was brought out of his thoughts by Daxter saying, "Hey kid, you okay?"

"Y-Yeah," he said. "Just nervous. D'you think Vin's okay?"

"He will be once the Daxtinator takes care of all those Metal Heads!" the ottsel chirped. Jak brought the Flyer down as his sidekick said this, and as soon as he got out, he froze.

"Hey Daxter," he started slowly. "Isn't this where we first landed? When we went through the rift two years ago?"

"Ya know, buddy," the ottsel replied, "You're right. It is. Because there's the Power Station over there!" He pointed to a tall, red building, where the doors were opening for them. The three of them walked inside, and stopped.

The room was brightly lit, due to multiple glowing monitors, flashing buttons and open power currents. _Bren would've _loved _this place,_ Chase thought gloomily.

They approached a narrow strip of a pathway, connected to a metal platform. On the platform was a…machine? It was unlike anything Chase had ever seen before. It was like a large ring; on the inside of the ring, the air was shimmering a faint blue, and wavering. "I take it this is the Warp Gate?" he asked.

"Yeah," Jak said.

"Does it…hurt?"

The blond looking at him confusedly a moment. "No, it's not painful at all."  
"Believe it or not, kid, we've been through a few of these things!" Daxter said.

"Okay…then how does it _feel_?"

Jak seemed at a loss of words for a moment, scratching the back of his head a bit. "Well, it's…_interesting_."

_Good enough for me._ Jak suddenly leapt through, Daxter right behind him. "Hey wait—oh forget it," he grumbled. "Here goes…" He backed up, and took a running leap into it.

Everything around him turned blue with hints of purple, and sparks of…electricity…were all around. He also had a sense of being in a timeless place—he didn't know how long it took.

Until he suddenly flew out and had to spit dirt out of his mouth. He sat up, shaking his head a bit. "That was by far the weirdest thing I've ever felt," he stated, standing.

"You'll get used to it," Jak said with a chuckle.

At that moment, they heard scurrying in the ground along with guttural roars. They turned to the source of the roars to see a few Metal Head Grunts coming at them. Along with…what looked like scorpions. "Okay…those are new ones," Chase said, also seeing some wasp-like ones flying at them, as in _flying_.

"Man, why couldn't the Tattooed Wonder come out here and do this?" Daxter snapped.

"You know, 'cause he doesn't like you," Chase said sarcastically, shooting at one of the wasp ones with his Blaster. More seriously, he added, "Not to mention he has the whole of the Underground to look out for."

And so both he and Jak had to then spend a whole minute shooting at the enemies that came at them—the small scorpion ones being easy to kill, though they made up for it in numbers. The wasp ones were downright annoying, since they kept moving at all times.

But eventually they were all dead.

The trio then began to plow their way through the Strip Mine, taking out any Metal Heads that were unfortunate to get in their way and taking a few of the Skull Gems as well, also taking account of the Dark Eco pools that were all over the place.

And finally, after hitching a ride on one of the metal carts that were filled with sand, dirt, rocks, and gravel, they finally made it to a lone building. The door had a large red button right next to it.

Cautiously, Chase pushed the button. The door flew open, revealing a room full of flashing lights and computer screens.

"AHHH!" someone screamed. "Stay back!" A small figure came into view, pulled out a pistol, and began shooting at them. Instinctively both Chase and Jak pulled their Blasters out, ducking behind the wall.

"Hey! We're friendly!" Chase tried reasoning.

"Do something, Jak!" Daxter shouted, "This guy's crazy!"

"Hey!" Jak called out, "Are you Vin? We're here to help! Torn sent us!"

"Stay back!" Vin shouted, shooting at them again.

Jak sighed and continued, "Look, if we were here to kill you, you wouldn't be talking right now!"

Suddenly, Vin stopped. "Oh, friendlies?" he asked, "Oh, thank goodness!" He stashed his pistol into his pocket. "So, where's the army?" he asked, looking around expectantly.

"Ah…we're it," Daxter replied.

Vin shrieked. "What?" he asked, "Just you three?" Chase nodded, putting his Morph-Gun away. "What do they think I'm worth?" Vin mumbled to himself.

"I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Jak said. "If you want, you can stay here and be Metal-meat, but Daxter, Chase, and I are leaving before those monsters get back."

"Ah, no!" Vin shouted, "Wait for me!"

Jak and Daxter went through first, then Chase. For a few seconds, Vin didn't follow—until Chase reached and actually grabbed him through the Warp Gate.


	9. Chapter 9

The scientist immediately raced over to the computers and began typing away at something. "I-I want to thank you guys for saving my butt out there at the Strip Mine," he said in a grateful tone, still typing furiously on the keyboard.

"We're always ready to help someone who's…nicer…in this place," Chase said, trying to be cheerful.

"And we'd like to thank you for being such a bad shot!" Daxter replied, scratching his head.

Vin sighed. "Ah, yeah, sorry about that, guys," he apologized. "I'm a bit…_jumpy _these days."

"Jumpy?" Daxter responded sarcastically after he, Jak, and Chase glanced at each other. We haven't noticed!" An awkward silence crept into the room for a minute before Daxter looked shocked and pointed behind Vin. "_Metal Head!_"

"Ahh!" Vin shouted, "What? What? Where? Ahh! What…oh."

"Nice reaction time," Chase commented while Daxter was laughing his head off.

"Not funny!" Vin snapped, "Those Metal Heads have been attacking our mining operations and we're running out of Eco! Eco power keeps the city shield walls up, and if the shield drops…well, we can all kiss our butts goodbye!"

"I've got a few surprises for those Metal Heads," Jak piped up.

"You've got to keep the shield walls up until the Shadow figures out what to do!" Vin insisted, "My readings show a drop in Eco flow at the Drill Platform. Probably some Metal Head eggs draining away power. So, use the Warp Gate to go to the platform and destroy every Metal Head egg you can find."

"Great!" Daxter snapped, "More Metal Head hunting! Let's get this over with!"

* * *

The Warp Gate launched the three of them out onto a metal platform. Chase rubbed his forehead, and looked up. It was very, _very_ cloudy up here, and there was lots of machinery around everywhere. He exchanged a quick look with Jak and Daxter, who both nodded, and they started toward a turret. Although…he felt like he was being watched.

* * *

"Over here, Commandant," Trey said, pointing. The object of which he spoke up was a Warp Gate; though the three there didn't know it.

Charlemagne frowned slightly, tapping it. "Vhat is it?"

"No clue."

Jeredy, looking curious, picked up a small stone, and tossed it at the center of the machine. As soon as it touched the shimmering-blue center, there was a flash, and it was gone.

While the commander and the scientist fiddled with the device, the leader of STORM took note of something. Another device was further down, on a different part of the platform that they had found and managed to climb up to. There was a flash down there, and two people came out of it. One had blond hair, and…elf ears? And the other—

She did a double take. It was none other than Chase Suno, albeit looking a bit taller. Then again, two years had gone by.

Eyes narrowing, she looked back at the strange device. To Trey and Jeredy, she said, "I zhink I know vhat it is."

"Commandant, what—?" Trey didn't get to finish his sentence, because she took a running leap into the blue stuff.

* * *

The kid hummed a tune to himself as he ran along one of the city's roads, the crocadog barking as it ran alongside him. His caretaker was a little bit behind him—"Wait for me, child!"—although he wasn't really paying attention. He hoped he could see those two soldiers again someday—the one with the blond hair named Jack, and the helmet-wearing one named Chase—and their orange pet that talked. Where were they?

A weird flash caught his attention, and he stopped to see one of those gate-things flash brightly, and someone fell out of it, a lady with blond hair and amber eyes. She stood up, looking around slowly, and said something weird—it didn't sound like English or Precursian, but like it at the same time. Two men—both having black hair, one with brown eyes and one with gray also followed out of the gate-thing.

They slowly walked away, though the kid saw that the lady dropped something. He went and picked it up.

It was like a small cylinder, colored black at the ends and yellow in the middle, with some yellow and silver spots on the black parts. He liked it—it was shiny. Meanwhile, his caretaker paused, looking over his shoulder at the people. "Interesting," he said quietly, stroking his beard. "More of them."

* * *

The last eggs in the Drill Platform were quickly obliterated by the turret. "WOO! OWNED!" Daxter hollered as chase pulled his goggles down from his face and climbed out of the turret.

The communicator beeped, and Chase pulled it out and pressed the key that would let the call through. _"WOW!"_ Vin exclaimed on the other end,_ "You guys took out all of those eggs! Thanks you guys, I owe you one!"_

"No prob, Vin," Chase said.

_"You guys have an exit near you," _Vin told them, _"I'll set it up so that you guys can get back to Haven."_

"Got it," Jak nodded, "We'll see you then."

"Boy, today's been crazy," Chase said, sighing. "Lots of running around."

"You said it," Daxter nodded. "I just hope that the Tattooed Wonder would give us a break after all of our work!"

"Probably not."

"Yeah…"

* * *

As it turned out, Torn _was_ willing to give them a break the next day.

So, they took the time to get to know one another. Jak and Daxter were more than willing to share stories of their misadventures and of where they came from—somewhere called Sandover—along with some of their friends: the mechanic Keira and the old Sage who took care of Jak, Samos.

They also told of their earlier adventure, starting at Misty Island. Including how Daxter wound up like he is now, (Chase: "You used to be human?!") heading north to restore him to normal, only to for them to save the world from the Dark Eco sages, the Acheron siblings Gol and Maia, who wanted to cover the world in Dark Eco. Of whom were also the only people who could have turned Daxter back to his original self.

And in turn, Chase told of some of the adventures Core-Tech had. "…and that's how I got Lock here," he said, holding up Lock's core.

"You name them?" Jak asked.

"Yeah—me and my friends name all of them. I also have Evo, Nitestone, and Babbeon. Nitestone is the one you saw in the Fortress, remember?"

"Riiight," Daxter said. "The panther-jackal thing."

"Mostly we went around looking for my dad, though we found him eventually," Chase continued. "While dealing with two different groups who are also after my dad—STORM and Eklipse. And…some of the people from STORM were chasing us when we got here."

"About that _we_—what are your pals named, kid?" Daxter said.

"Bren, Jinja, Beyal, and Dax. You've seen Jinja—she's apparently the third KG Commander. Dax was the one with Sig. As for Bren…well, I've known him the longest out of all of 'em. He's kind of timid, but he makes up for it by helping with the technical stuff. Beyal, we met him in the mountains. He's a bit of an enigmatic, but he's a good friend. And my father's name is Jeredy—he was with us too. I just wish I knew where they all were…"

_And I wish I knew how we could get home…_

* * *

The next day it was back to work. "Suno. Jak." All eyes turned to Torn as the auburn-haired man entered the room. "I have a new mission for you two and your pet," he said, his voice terse. One of my old KG comrades was sent to the Pumping Station. There's been no word from her patrol—"

Chase perked up a bit at hearing "her."_ Jinja maybe?_

"—and after what you guys ran into out there, I'm afraid she may need some help. And Suno, it's not Blackwell."

Jak asked, "So, what's so special about this _friend_ of yours, Torn?"

"This _friend_, of mine has helped the Underground many times before," he answered, "Now I want you three to go back to the Pumping Station and take a look around."

"Right!" Daxter made a mock salute.

"I want you guys to render assistance if it's necessary," the auburn haired man added, ignoring Daxter. Then the man pointed his finger at the ottsel. "Now get your squirrelly ass outta here!"

* * *

The ride to the Pumping Station was silent. _Huh,_ Chase thought. _I thought Jinja would be the only girl in the KG. Guess I'm wrong._

It wasn't long, though, until they reached the large pipe that led to the Pumping Station. But when they touched down on the sand, they were surprised to see four Spyder Gunner Metal Heads there. "Figures there'd be Metal Heads," Chase mumbled, taking out his Morph-Gun and setting it to the Blaster mod.

"Alright, let's go and beat the crap out of them," Jak announced, pulling out his Morph-Gun and doing the same. Thank the Precursors the Spyder Gunners' weapons were very short-ranged.

They spent the next few minutes going around the Pumping Station, searching for Torn's ally and kicking ass. After they unleashed hell on the Metal Heads, they started up to the last place they hadn't checked. And once they were atop the plateau, they saw a KG Cruiser parked on the sand.

As they got near, Daxter jumped off of Jak's shoulder and said, "Man, what the heck are we doing risking our lives to rescue some old Krimzon Guard hag anyway? She's probably got more facial hair than me." Jak facepalmed, while something caught Chase's eye.

"What?" he mumbled, going to investigate—

Until he heard something land behind him and grabbed him in a headlock. "Who the hell are you three?!" a female voice demanded.

Both Chase and Jak raised their hands in defense, while Daxter's facial expression instantly changed, and he whistled. "Mmm," he began, "I do love a woman in uniform! Want to bark some orders at me? Woof, woof!" The girl raised her eyebrows as Chase facepalmed and Jak rolled his eyes with a groan.

"What the hell?" the KG soldier muttered under her breath, and Chase twisted his head to get a better look. She had red hair in dreadlocks, and blue-gray paint on her face like Torn. "I'm your soldier in the front lines of love," the ottsel continued, "Waiter, foxhole for two!"

The girl frowned and pointed her Eco Pistol at Daxter. "Keep talking," she growled, "And I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves!"

"Uh," Chase started. "Could you let me go? Torn sent us."

She complied, saying, "I don't need help," with a scoff. "But you two might. We've got company." She nodded, and they turned to see a whole army of Metal Heads—Spyder Gunners and Juice Goons—swarming toward them, growling.

And so commenced another one of the common minutes of shooting Metal Heads, while making sure the girl didn't get hurt. Once the Metal Heads were all dead, the girl headed back to her Hellcat cruiser. "Watching me take care of those Metal Heads was pretty exciting, wasn't it sugar?" Daxter asked in a flirty tone of voice, causing the tattooed girl to roll her eyes and for Jak and Chase to facepalm. The girl, meanwhile, started the engine on her cruiser and began to take off. "Hey!" Daxter shouted, "Sweet stripes! Gimme them digits so I can look you up sometime! We'll party hard! Big city style!"

The girl ignored him. "Tell Torn Baron Praxis is planning something big," she replied, "I think it has to do with that symbol." She pointed to a tree stump, where a symbol not unlike the one on the amulet the kid had been wearing was situated.

"What is it?" Chase asked.

"It's the Seal of the House of Mar," the girl explained, "The founder of Haven City. We're being sent out on 'suicide missions' to locate artifacts from the time of his rule. If curiosity's worth dying for, you can ask the blind old soothsayer in the Bazaar named Onin. She might know something about all this. Here's my Bazaar access security pass." She tossed it to him, and he caught it. Before he slipped it into the communicator, he noticed a name on it in Precursian—of which over the two years he was quite fluent in reading.

"You're name's Ashelin?"

"We're even now!" Ashelin replied, disappearing into the sky.

"What a woman!" Daxter commented, whistling.

* * *

"ACHOO!" Daxter sneezed from his place on Jak's shoulder, rubbing his nose a bit afterwards. "Damn this place is dusty."

"Yeah. It seems a bit…run down," Jak commented, looking around the Bazaar. It was, indeed, extremely dusty. There were some awnings, market stalls, and lamps.

They had also stopped at the Oracle to trade in Skull Gems so Jak could learn a new move: the Dark Bomb. It was a killer move, literally—though it used up all the Dark Eco in his system.

At first they had been taking a Flyer, but quickly learned that vehicles weren't allowed in the east wing of the Bazaar—only able to pass through using the raised road. So they had to ditch the Flyer in a corner and continue on foot. Then again, exercise was good.

Finally they came to a tent in a reclusive part of the Bazaar. As soon as they stepped in, Chase was amazed. There were candles lit all over the place, and some kind of incense was present in the air. Not to mention all the old relics lying around and the colorful…bird-monkey…hanging upside-down next to them. In the middle of the room, a much older woman sat there, as if meditating.

"Cool!" Daxter cried, "Check out all the dead stuff!" He reached out to poke the bird when he suddenly opened his eyes and smacked Daxter across the face with one of his wings.

"Ow!" the ottsel snapped as both Jak and Chase recoiled.

"Touch the goods again, rat boy," the bird threatened, "Or you'll be—_arrk_—counting with your toes!"

"Settle down there," Chase said. "He didn't mean any harm."

The bird looked at him queerly a moment before flying over to the woman in the middle of the room and sitting on her head. "I am Pecker!" he introduced himself. "Yes, my mother…she was very vindictive. I am Onin's interpreter!"

The said soothsayer suddenly opened her eyes and clapped her hands together, as blue smoke appeared out of the bowl in between her legs. _Whoa…_ Chase thought.

Pecker continued, "Onin welcomes you, blah, blah, blah," Pecker translated, "The usual boring salutations. She says it is good to see you in person, Chase, and to see you again, Jak."

_Eh?_ "But I've never been here before! I'm not even from this dimension!" Chase exclaimed at the same time as Jak's "But we've never met before."

"This world, that; before, after…it is all the same," Pecker said cryptically.

"Oh! Oh!" Daxter gasped as he watched Onin move her hands again, "Let me try! Aah…she wants a…she wants a yakkow bone! A yakkow bladder! No…no…I got it! For many moons…she has…waited for…a juice pop?" He continued ranting for a bit, each one more ridiculous than the last.

"Close," Pecker replied sarcastically, "But _no!_ Onin says you seek answers—_arrk_—about the Tomb of Mar."

"So what do we need to know?" Jak piped up.

Pecker merely waved them off as he continued to translate for Onin. "She's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid '_ooooooo_' crap," he said. "Forget all that, I'm going to sum this up quickly, because now you're cutting into my siesta time. Onin wants you to recover three artifacts from the Precursor Mountain Temple. Not two! Not four! THREE! Use the Warp Gate at the northwest side of the city, and bring back the three items you find!"

* * *

"Whoa…" the trio exclaimed, looking over the large structure before them. The temple was _huge_. There were waterfalls everywhere, floating platforms, things like that. Heck, even _Daxter_ looked impressed. "Uh-oh," Chase said, eyes widening after taking in something crucial.

"What's up?" Jak asked.

"Three different paths…each with an artifact at the end."

"_Great!_ This is gonna take all day!" Daxter exclaimed.

Jak shook his head. "Let's just get this done and over with."

Of course, as soon as they took _one freaking step_ onto the first path to the immediate left, they were ambushed by Metal Heads. They were frog-like in a sense, and easily taken care of with the Scatter Gun. After that they had to climb a few levels up, and cross a bit of water that ended in a free-fall. Chase leaned over and looked down briefly, shivering at the fact that he couldn't see the ground below…just darkness.

Then there was a grassy flooring about three feet down with a huge button in the middle and a cave that, by the look of it, had suffered a cave-in.

But that wasn't the case—the rocks in front of the cave exploded, and a screeching, rhino-like Metal Head came running out, arcing its horn around dangerously. Chase got his Blaster ready…

But Jak wanted to try out his Dark Bomb first.

So once Chase and Daxter scurried off to safety, Jak unleashed the beast within.

Violet sparks of electrical-like Dark Eco came off of him, and with a growl, Dark Jak emerged. As the Metal Head flinched away out of shock, the dark half of Jak smirked sadistically before he jumped into the air and slammed his fist onto the ground. The Dark Eco expanded into a large shockwave, affecting the Metal Head greatly for some reason. Jak returned to normal as soon as he used the attack, while Chase continued shooting at it until it was dead.

Meanwhile, Jak chuckled evilly, eyes closed and with a smirk. "Jeez Jak, that was tense," Chase said, eyes wide.

"Man, I can't _wait_ to try it out on Baron Praxis!" Jak continued. "Who knew Dark Eco could be this powerful? And it's the perfect irony, too!"

Chase couldn't help but shiver. _Is this what Dark Eco does to someone?_ Apparently Daxter was a bit freaked out to, for he jumped onto the controller's shoulder with a "Mind if I hitch here for a bit?"

As Jak punched the button down, a ledge shot out of the wall. Then they had to climb more rocks. Of course, waiting at the top was _another Metal Head_, this one of the Shield variety. It lowered its shield, shooting three consecutive shots at Jak, who jumped them. But it forgot that Chase was there. Said teen shot at it while its shield was down. It didn't die that go—then shooting at him, him ducking to the side, and then Jak shot at it. Then it was dead.

Then they had to cross a bit of land that was…a dead end. Or so they thought. Because once they were over the little land-bridge, it collapsed, freeing three platforms—two moving back and forth, one going up and down. Altogether, they led to a previously inaccessible ledge.

They followed it down, which led to a platform they had to shoot to make it flip, which led up to a thin piece of Precursor metal that went back and forth. Across it was another pond, but now six of the frog Metal Heads jumped out of the water. All dispatched easily.

And as they were crossing a platform that continuously submerged and reemerged from the water, a thought came to Chase's mind. _Am I…adapting to this world? _It was a scary thought to even consider that he might be getting used to all this.

He stopped, looking down a cliff. The mountains went on for a bit, giving way to Haven City below. It was an amazing sight…to those who didn't know what went on in that city.

And then he heard Daxter yell out. _What the hell happened now?_ He ran to the building that the duo had gone into, only to see Jak being held in a headlock by a teen who looked…_familiar_. Daxter, meanwhile, was wrestling with what appeared to be a Metal Head of some kind.

But the boy holding Jak in a headlock…Chase knew him.

He'd gotten considerably taller over the two years, but the white hair was unmistakable, and so was the voice. "Who are you, and why are you here?" he hissed at Jak. His gray eyes then found Chase, causing him to release Jak. "Ch-Chase?!"

"Beyal!"


	10. Chapter 10

"I can't believe you've been here the whole time!" Chase went on.

"Yes…it is very good to see you, Chase. But…" Beyal trailed off. "Who are they?"

"Oh? That's Jak, and there's Daxter over there—wrestling a Metal Head?!"

"Ah! Lirael, the orange weasel is a friend!"

The Metal Head leaped off of Daxter at that, while Daxter exclaimed, "Weasel?!" Then: "Wait, is that Metal Head there your _PET _or something?"

Beyal looked hurt. "She is a companion."

_She?_ Chase wondered, though didn't pursue the thought. Meanwhile, Daxter walked to the middle of the platform. "That's some peeper, huh?" All three of the others noticed something crucial while Daxter started sniffing. "Something's cooking? Hmm, kinda smells like…" he wafted the smell to his nose, freezing and turning around to stare at his tail behind him. "_Burnt ottsel_? Aggggghhhhh!" He ran off the platform and around the room in circles, as if trying to flee from his own tail.

While Daxter was yelling in pain, he wound up getting the platform to spin somehow, causing the Lens to float down, where Jak caught it. Meanwhile, Daxter had jumped into the pond outside. Jak tapped on it a few times before putting it in his backpack.

Daxter, his fur dripping wet, staggered over to Jak and fell onto the ground, panting. "All of this Precursor junk is out to get me…I'm sure of it!"

"You're paranoid," Chase said, while Beyal blinked in a confused manner. The Metal Head—Lirael—tilted her head, looking at Daxter.

Beyal looked over at something, and pointed. Chase followed his friend's gaze to see a platform that had appeared out of nowhere. After looking at the other three briefly, all of them went to the platform, which floated down to an open hall. Outside of the door were three shoot-to-flip platforms that were going up and down, creating a set of stairs. Though Beyal's eyes widened when he saw the Blasters, Daxter just said, "You'll get used to it, snowball."

* * *

Long story short, they found the other two artifacts without much trouble. Namely, having to cross a giant lake of Dark Eco, navigate a cliff with seemingly-endless falling boulders, the works.

Finally they were back at the ledge with the Warp Gate. Beyal simply stared at the huge wall. Meanwhile, Daxter shoved "Lirael" into a bag, which he handed to the monk. At Beyal's shocked look, Daxter said, "Snowball, bringing a Metal Head into the city'll get the KG on your ass faster than a fly to a Yakkow."

As soon as they brought the artifacts to Onin, the communicator beeped. Chase, though having a feeling on who it might be, pressed the key, and sure enough, heard Krew say, "Boys, I have a favor to ask. Come to the saloon for details."

* * *

Chase could tell that Beyal didn't like Haven's vehicles that much. Especially with how fast Jak was flying the Cruiser. _I thought Cruisers were supposed to be SLOW!_

Also waiting outside was none other than Dax. His reaction: "_Monkfish?!_"

While the other two were catching up, Chase followed Jak into the saloon, where Krew started going in circles around them. "I have a proposition for you. Racing is the biggest sport in the city! Errol is the undisputed grand champion. He's crazy, and dangerous on the track." The crime lord laughed harshly after that. "My kind of guy. Only a fool would dare race against him, ey! And that's where you come in. Two clients of mine are looking for a fast driver for their racing team. Here's a security pass to get you into the stadium section." He threw a card; Chase caught it with unerring accuracy, instantly clipping it into the communicator. But as they were about to go back out, Krew said, "Uh, and your contract, with just a few trifles for me. I've actually already signed your name in, Jak, to save time."

"_What!?_"

Daxter jumped and grabbed the contract, reading it off. "We the racers hereby agree to give Krew all proceeds from race earnings, endorsement fees, broadcast royalties, syndication residuals, vehicle sponsorships, mall appearance fees, collectible card assets, fast-food tie-ins, use of likeness rights, talk show deals, clothing lines, all print rights including book, novella, comic, pamphlet, tickertape, neon sign and graffiti designs…" He paused, taking a breath as Dax and Beyal came in, flipping the page before continuing. "Toy rights, shoe lines, mood rings, game rights, vitamin endorsements, city kickbacks, movie deals, and of course, all death and dismemberment accident insurance claims." He finished with a sarcastic flourish.

Krew flew over, chuckling darkly. "We can work out the tiny details later. If you can get from here to the Race Garage near the stadium in less than three minutes, my clients said that they would consider letting you drive for their team. Make me proud!" Krew leered before flying away.

"Ugh. Can't wait to be done with _him_," Chase muttered.

"Yes," Beyal said. "Something is…off…about him."

* * *

With the time limit, both Chase and Jak—while Daxter was bringing Beyal to the Underground HQ—had to snag Zoomers and haul tail to the Stadium Sector. It was going well until Jak ran over a KG. Which ensued dodging bullets and tasers, as well as KG Zoomers and Cruisers chasing them. They made it with thirty seconds to spare.

It looked like a typical garage—a few vehicles on stands, looking to be in need of repair, tools scattered about, and…quite the amount of trophies.

"Ah... hello?" Jak called. "Krew said something about needing a driver?"

"We're busy right now," a girl's voice said from behind a curtain. "You must be Krew's new errand boys."

Another voice then spoke. "Look, I don't mean to be rude, but we're working on something really important right now." Chase's eyes narrowed. _Why does that voice sound so…familiar?_

"I mean, you guys got here really fast, but we're not interesting in any new drivers right now," the girl continued.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Jak said in a sultry voice. Chase rolled his eyes in response.

"No! We're…ah…working on a secret, ah…ah…vehicle project," the guy said nervously.

"Okay, sorry…" Jak said, throwing his hands up in the air.

"Listen, if you guys have the guts to try racing in _this_ city, try taking my new JET-board out on the Stadium Course." Jak and Chase exchanged looks, mouthing "jet board."

"I made a few of 'em, so if both of you can beat the Stadium Challenge…"

The girl finished, "_Maybe_ we'll consider letting you on the team."

* * *

They found the JET-boards without any incident, on a stand. By then Daxter had come back—when, Chase hadn't noticed—and hopped onto Jak's shoulder as he studied their new toy.

Meanwhile, Chase hopped onto the second one—it was sort of like a skateboard, except it required a lot more balance. As in, _a lot_.

The male mechanic's voice came up over the communicator, "I made it possible so that you can jump using the JET-board without falling off." _True that!_ Chase thought, in awe that the trick worked. "You can also duck before jumping to get higher, and it you jump again directly after landing a jump, you'll go even higher than that!"

Again, true that.

"It's just like a skateboard, really; you can grind rails on it."

For a third time, true that.

Then, "See if you guys can beat the Stadium challenge. Try getting more points than I did. _Then_ I'll be impressed."

As soon as the mechanic finished the sentence, Jak said, "Bet I can get more points."

With a grin, Chase replied, "You're on."

* * *

The result…Chase won by a hundred points exactly.

As they put the boards back on the stand—Jak looking at his longingly for a second—Chase said, "Let's go see those mechanics again."

When they walked in, Jak said, "We beat the Stadium Challenge."

"Great," the male mechanic said, "People do get lucky sometimes"

"You don't like us, do you?" Jak asked.

"You work for that slime ball Krew. What's not to like?" the female mechanic said.

Jak turned to the trophy case on the right. "Looks like you've won a few races. Isn't it true the city champion gets to tour the palace?"  
"Yeah…why?"

"Could you get us into the palace?"

"A friendly visit, I'm guessing?" the male mechanic said sarcastically. Again, a bell went off in Chase's head. _Why is that voice so darn _familiar_?_

"Yeah. We're _real _fans of the Baron," Jak shot back to the mechanic.

"Okay, okay…we'll help out if you _stop bothering us_." The male mechanic finally gave in. "I saw an old maintenance elevator at the base of one of the Palace support towers. That old lift might take you up to the palace, _if_ you can find a way to turn on the elevator's power. Now can you please go?"

And as soon as they were out, Chase said, "Vin."

"What?" Daxter asked.

"Vin. Remember what that mechanic said about the service elevator in the Palace? I bet Vin can get it working."

So they got out to the Power Station, where the said technician was frantically typing away at a keyboard. "Vin buddy! We need a favor," Jak said, throwing his arms out like he was happy to see him, then clasping his hands together in front of him.

"I can't help you with your Eco bill," Vin said snippily.

"We need you to switch on the access elevator in one of the Palace's support towers," Jak said harshly, dropping the "nice-guy" thing.

"Sheesh," Vin said, running his hands through his hair. "That's part of the old B-Zone power grid. It hasn't worked for years."

"Well, if it's too hard for you, I understand…" he added casually, turning away subtly. "Power stuff can be tricky."

"_Tricky_?" Vin looked offended, before he started moving across the Power Station, typing at all sorts of panels and dealing with several buttons and triggers. "I could route the B-Zone conduit lines through the bypass grid," he said, running to the other side of the circular Station. "Shunting past the Eco rings to connect the inductor tubes in series…" He ran back over and pressed some more buttons. "Then back through the outer wall indicator helix and across the resonant flux routes into the number five capacitor array." He hopped in a lift, moving up to one of the higher screen, poking around on it for a second before lowering the lift and racing it across the floor, over their heads, and to the other side of the room. "Assuming the circuits in the G-X-7-5-B grid can handle the surge, I could link the phase loop lines into the primary coils, and presto!" He dropped the lift directly in front of the trio, flinging his arms out. "You've got instant lift juice!"

"Vin, you're a genius!" Chase exclaimed, feeling a pang of sorrow as a memory of Bren welled up. _He'd get along perfectly with Vin here._

"Eh, actually…Mar, Terashi, Haru, Kai, Shiranui, and Oki were the geniuses. People say that they made most of this stuff long ago—the shield-wall, the Eco grid…everything."

"Wait," Jak cut in. "I've heard of Mar, but not the other five."

"Ahh. Terashi was Mar's constant companion, Haru was the resident scientist, Kai was the first queen-person of the city, Shiranui was the peacemaker, and Oki was the kickbutt warrior. Those five are the fabled Five Warriors. No proof they were really there, but a lot of people mention them in all the histories. But like Mar, no one knows what happened to them; gone like the wind. Poof!" he babbled before getting back to the point. "Anyway, to get that elevator moving, you gotta find and turn on all the old B-Zone power boxes located in the city. There are five of 'em!"

"That doesn't sound so tough." Daxter grinned as he said this.

"No. Except those power boxes are guarded by motion-sensing turbo cannons!" Vin said, making finger guns and shooting them frantically. "But, if you can destroy the cannons, and switch the boxes on, I can do the rest." Chase nodded and the trio started walking away. "Just don't tell the Baron I ever saw ya!" Vin yelled after them as they walked out.

* * *

It actually wasn't that hard, with the turrets not knowing which one of them to focus on. But after the first one—right below the Power Station—the KG became an unwanted nuisance. The last one was right by the Water Slums, to be exact. As soon as Chase punched the button, Vin's voice came on over the communicator. "Okay, the B-zone grid is back online. Have fun being _killed _in the palace."

That commenced looking for the nearest support tower, somewhere close to the Stadium Sector. Chase could instantly find truth in Vin's words as three whole locks had to open before they could get to the elevator. Inside looked just as clean and shiny as the rest of the buildings, which was strange, considering what they had to do to open it.

The elevator vaulted them up at a really high speed, leading to a room with a single door. "Well, this shouldn't be too hard, right?" Chase said, opening the door. He froze, his eyes widening.

"You _had_ to jinx us," Daxter said, staring.

Because they now had to navigate the windy-looking support beams. _Ah krag…_


	11. Chapter 11

Long story short, it was a total _nightmare_ getting across it. There were spinning electrified blades, two bars they had to swing over to get across—or face a plummet to their doom—to get past an obviously-electrified red platform, a turret that shot at them periodically, and spiky rotating platforms. "By the Precursors! Talk about being paranoid!" Chase exclaimed.

Finally they came to four platforms that were built kind of like stairs, and both of them hopped up them to solid metal. It was raining by then, but they could still hear and see through the skylight in front of them.

When Chase looked, he was in for a surprise. Standing in a room below were Praxis, Errol, and _Jinja_. Not to mention the flickering hologram of a…a…Chase didn't know _what_ it was. But one word that described it was _monster_, and not the Monsuno kind.

"I've told you, I will have more Eco by week's end. We'll transport it directly to your nest, as promised!" Praxis said to it.

Below, Jinja seemed to sense they were being watched, and looked up to see them. Her blue eyes widened when she saw her friend, and her eyes flicked back to Errol and Praxis nervously, before she mouthed "_Get out of here!_"while motioning slightly with one hand.

The monster then spoke. "A deal is of no value if you can't deliver, my dear Baron. I grow impatient with your puny gestures. Give me the agreed upon Eco soon, or the deal is off, and your precious city will pay the price!" The hologram then vanished entirely.

"He's toying with us!" Errol yelled. "Let me lead an assault on the Nest before it's too late! I can take him!"

"Patience, Commander," Praxis said. "No one has ever penetrated the Metal Head Nest. You know that." He turned to face a window. "I've seen what comes of such foolish plans." He brought up one of his hands up to his face, thinking. "No! Strength is their weakness…we play helpless…we train them to eat from our hands, and then…" He paused before resuming again in a shout. "Move forward with the plan! Commander Blackwell, make sure to tell Ashelin to up her patrols. I want that Tomb found!"

"But your daughter has not been…agreeable as of late," Errol said, bowing slightly.

"Agh…I'll see to that problem. One way or another."

"Ashelin is the Baron's daughter?!" Chase exclaimed.

"And find _child_! If you'd spend half as much time looking for that little brat as you spend flirting with that mechanic girl, we would have pinned his royal ass to a wall long ago."

Daxter, who had been happily residing on Chase's head the whole time, apparently had to sneeze. Good chance the controller's spiky raven-black hair was tickling his nose. But whatever it was, he started breathing heavily and making involuntary noises. Chase looked up at him, begging him to hold it. But of course he didn't.

Errol immediately looked up and yelled, "What was that?" At the exact same time, Chase flung himself backwards, and so did Jak. They then both gave Daxter a glare that said, "_Really?_"

They took a ramp to their right, though it led to a clearing on the roof that had the only passage continuing blocked off by an electrical barrier. And out of nowhere, a big red mech suit started rising from the left.

Inside was Baron Praxis himself. "So, we have a rat in the walls, do we? A rat and his boys it seems! Back for a few more Dark Eco treatments?" Chase heard Jak snarl at this. Then: "Wait a minute! You're one of those short-eared kids!"

"So what if I am?" Chase shot back.

Praxis growled, and yelled, "Well, allow me to put you both out of your misery!" He then started shooting at them.

As he shot, a green film covered the mech. _Looks like a shield._ Whatever it was, it went down when the suit paused to reload, and both of them managed to get one shot in before it was back up. Things went into repeat mode, though Praxis was behind them now. Chase had to jump in order to not lose use of his legs, but still managed to get a few shots in.

"You little brat!" Praxis yelled at him. "Do you really think you can hurt me?"

Praxis flew over to the blue glowing ball on the electrified archway, maybe to recharge his shield, before flying back and shooting again. This continued on, shoot, get shot, recharge, over again.

Finally, after one last hit, the mech sparked dangerously, and the Baron flew away, through the gate, leaving it open for them to follow.

He was waiting in a clearing almost identical to the one we were just in; deserted with an electrified archway on the other end. And then the mech shot out _missiles_. What the krag was up with this guy?!

Then again, the missiles left shadows on the ground, so they were easy to dodge. After shooting two more volleys, the shield was down. By now Chase noticed that when he shot at them, the shield went down, so he acted and got a shot in.

And again, just like last time, the mech started sparking and shooting out nuts and bolts. The Baron went spinning away again, through the electricity and over to the next clearing, trying to fix his suit.

Another clearing and this time no electrical arch. He started shooting, vaulting towards them, and then stopped and setting out six little fire whirlwinds.

The tornados were pathetic, really. They didn't even get close to them before getting put out by the rain. Like last time, this went on twice more, but it wasn't long before the mech took the last bullet it could handle, and exploded, leaving Praxis in nothing but a pod.

"The dark powers I gave you cannot protect you forever, Jak!" he yelled. "Since I made you, I can destroy you! We'll meet again soon!" The pod flew away.

"Yeah, _whatever_,"Daxter said casually, fluttering his hand. "Bye-bye."

"Well!" Chase said. "That was fun."

* * *

They found a way down from an elevator that, strangely, came out at the Palace's front entrance. And waiting for them outside was none other than Jinja. "Chase Suno," she started, advancing quickly, "How _stupid _can you be?!" She finished by punching his shoulder hard.

"Ow! Settle down Jin!" he said. "_He's_ the one that wanted to come up!" Chase jerked his head at Jak as he said this.

Jinja sighed. "Whatever you guys did, the Baron's seriously pissed about it. You might want to lie low for a while—he put the Guard on high alert. And _trust me_ on this, Chase…if you do _anything_ more stupid than you just did…you'll have _me_ to deal with!"

She stalked off. When she vanished from view, Daxter whistled. "Man, she's cute! Where'd you meet her, Chase?"

Chase turned to glare ice daggers at the ottsel. "Don't. Even. _Think_. About it," he growled.

* * *

Yes, Jinja was happy that she saw Chase again. But on top of the _Palace's roof_…how in the name of the Precursors did he and that other guy get up there? She groaned, running a hand over her face. "_Commander Blackwell, there's a fight in the Bazaar,_" a statical voice said over her earpiece communicator. "_We need assistance._"

"On my way," she replied to the guard, starting toward the Bazaar. But as she turned, she saw someone looking at her. Someone _familiar_. She gazed slightly to the side, and almost leapt fifty feet straight up. It was Charlemagne. _I _knew_ it! They're here too! But…is she the only one? And even if she is, how'd she survive outside of the city? I don't get it…_

She also saw two other familiar people with her. Namely, Trey…and Jeredy.

* * *

Jinja's warning was spot-on. They had to actually _sneak_ back to the Underground HQ, because the Krimzon Guard was _actually_ _looking_ for them.

Once they got back, Torn was glaring at them fiercely, while Beyal—who was sitting on a chair—looked at them confusedly, Lirael on his head.

"The city is on high alert; what the _hell_ did you three do?!" Torn barked.

"Us?" Daxter looked up from behind Chase's head. "Nothing…right Chase? Just…sightseeing."

"Really? Then why are the Krimzon Guard looking for…" He paused, looking down and reading off, "A dangerous young man with light hair, blue tunic, a black-haired short-eared boy with a blue vest, and a rabid orange _rat_?"

The kid—Chase was wondering when he and Kor got there—smiled widely and pointed at Daxter. "Ah…could be anyone," Daxter said, before flinging his arms out and adopting a cheesy grin. "Orange _is_ the new black this season." Chase facepalmed, shaking his head in exasperation.

"Look, we climbed up to the Baron's palace…" Jak started.

"And…we might've tripped a few alarms," Chase finished, running his fingers over the table. Then he noticed something the kid had in his other hand. Something black on the ends and yellow in the center. A STORM core. And not just any core—Driftblade. _Where the (BLEEP) did he get that?!_

"Oh right…that too…" Daxter trailed off. The kid walked over to Chase, holding up the core as if to show him.

"What? I didn't authorize a strike on the…!" Torn started.

"Hey! We kicked the Baron's ass," Jak said "Unfortunately, he escaped."

"_And,_" Daxter started dramatically. "We overheard a secret meeting with the leader of the Metal Heads!"

Everybody's eyes widened. "You saw the Metal Head leader?" Kor asked.

"Not exactly," Chase said, "He was on some kind of holographic communicator, but we heard him talking with Baron Praxis."

"The Baron is bribing the Metal Heads with Eco!" Jak added, slamming his hand on the table.

"Hmph…it will never be enough," Kor said contemptuously. Chase looked at him questioningly, but he schooled his expression before the Core-Tech leader could get a read on it.

"But the Baron's gonna double cross 'em!" Daxter interjected.

"Is that so? Well our good Baron's wonderful _charm_ must have angered someone, because there's word from the Wasteland that Metal Head armies are on the move again!" Kor said.

"Why didn't you tell us Ashelin was Praxis's daughter? What's your connection with her?" Jak asked.

And he clearly hit a nerve, because Torn shot back, "That's none of your business! Since you've stirred up the wumpbee's nest, you, Suno, and whiskers here need to get four of our people to new safe houses; shuttle each agent to a location they specify. Move all of them _without _any casualties. Don't screw this up."

* * *

The mission was, to say in the least, a _complete nightmare_. With the KG already on high alert, the alarm was going off as soon as they picked up the first guy. The first one got dropped off at another spot in the Slums. The second one was almost in the Industrial Zone. The third was actually in the Industrial Zone. And the last was in the Water Slums.

When the last guy got dropped off, he said, "Thanks guys. I'll make sure to tell the Shadow we're safe." Then the communicator beeped, and Torn's voice sounded.

"The operation was a success. All Underground members are safe. Come back to the hideout. I have another mission waiting for you both that I'd like to go over."

When they got back, Torn and Beyal were the only ones there, unless you counted Lirael. "Scouts report movement in Dead Town. Creatures moving towards the Sacred Site. Just as before," Torn growled tersely.

"What happened…ah, before?" Daxter asked.

"You already know," Chase said darkly.

"Chase," Beyal put in, "I am afraid I do not—"

He was cut off by Torn. "Metal Heads broke through the old city wall. We fought them, but then the Baron pulled back." He shook his head as he said this. "Leaving everyone outside the _new barrier_ to die. Only the Shadow stayed and somehow stopped the attack." At this Beyal looked downright horrified. Lirael made a small growling sound.

"And now you expect us to go out there again?" Jak asked.

"You catch on fast!" Torn said in a sarcastically proud kind of way, "If you prevent the Metal Heads from reaching the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be…" He paused. "_Most_ grateful. He might even ask to see you." He smirked wickedly before taking out two new Morph-Gun barrels. "I'm probably wasting these, but here are some new barrels for those pea shooters of yours. Believe me, you're gonna need 'em!" He walked off, satisfied.

Chase took the barrel and fitted it onto the Morph-Gun. This time it glowed blue, lengthening and suddenly growing heavier. Now it somewhat resembled a machine gun. Jak did the same, testing the weight while grinning like a kid with a new toy—which in his case, was the truth.

* * *

So they went out to Dead Town. Torn was right—the place was _crawling_ with Metal Heads. It was mostly just Grunts and Stingers at first, until they reached an island of sorts that had two Sling Blasters. Jak sniped them from a distance with his Blaster on the way down the steps. Once they got there, half a dozen Stingers popped out of the ground, though were easy pickings for the Scatter Guns. They also had to fight their way through a ruined building that looked like it would fall apart totally within the next few years. The Metal Heads in the building were soon victims of the Vulcan Barrel—it shot at them as fast as Boost could run.

Jak and Daxter went on ahead, and then stopped suddenly. Chase frowned. "Guys, what's…?"

He stopped himself when he heard Daxter stutter, "Is that…_is that_…?! No, it couldn't be…that's not…" He trailed off, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's Samos's hut," Jak said gruffly, walking forward. Confused to no end, Chase followed and stared at the sinister-looking building that seemed to be older than anything else around.

"But…what…how…when…where…_why_?" Daxter continued, ducking his head down.

"We're in the _future_, Daxter…" Jak said, his voice thick with disbelief. He took a deep breath before saying, "This…horrible place…is…our world!"


	12. Chapter 12

"Finally, we get to see the Shadow!" Daxter exclaimed after they got back to the Underground. "What do you got to do around here to get noticed?"

"A lot," Chase mumbled.

Torn was waiting inside. Beyal was as well, sitting on a bed. "The Shadow has decided it's time to meet you," Torn said, arms crossed. "Don't know why."

"Why is that place in the old ruins so important?" Chase asked.

"There's a powerful energy force at the old house. The Metal Heads are drawn to it." _Not much of an explanation…maybe Jak'll know something._

Daxter stood up on his tip-toes on Jak's shoulder, trying to see over Torn's shoulder. "No kidding. We used to know the guy that lived there…" Jak trailed off.

"So, you're the new recruits who keep getting into trouble." Chase looked up, and was surprised. A really short man with white hair, a moustache and a moss-covered log on top of his head was the one who had spoken.

"Oh no, not you!" Daxter said, grabbing his face in distress.

"Daxter what—who…?" Chase tried asking.

"Welcome to our humble Underground movement," the Shadow continued, as if neither of them had spoken."I am known as the Shadow, but you may call me Samos. And you are?"

"Sheesh Jak, we went through all that to meet his holiness, ol' log on the head, grandpa green?" Daxter ranted on.

"Don't you know who we are?" Jak asked slowly.

"Sorry kids...never seen you before…and I never forget a face…especially one _that_ ugly."

"So it begins…" Daxter said with a heavy, irritated sigh.

"I'm confused," Chase stated.

"We'll explain later," Jak said in response.

"Alright then," Samos cut in. "We've got a Baron to overthrow, a _child_ to protect, an invasion of Metal Heads to stop, and a city to save. I'd say the schedule's pretty full!" He paused to add, "Right now I need you to go to Haven Forest and root out a few Metal Heads." He jumped onto the table, looking at some news articles. "That forest is my source of power, but I can't protect it much longer. Hunt down and destroy all the Metal Head scouts you find there. Good luck…and welcome to the fight!" he finished jovially.

* * *

Haven Forest was pretty close to the Mountain Temple—actually, they had to pass through the Mountain Temple to get there. The security gates opened up, and Chase saw something that surprised him: the two JET-Boards. "Whoa!" Daxter exclaimed. "We get to keep 'em! I call shotgun!"

Chase ignored him, briefly skating around the room on it before strapping it to his bag.

The forest air was a lot fresher than the city's, and reminded him of Alappia in his own world. _No, can't think about that,_ he quickly thought, shutting down any feelings of homesickness. While hunting down the Metal Heads, Chase noted that these ones were the same type as Lirael. _So Lirael's a Scout, then._

When he checked his radar about thirty minutes later, he saw there was only one left, and that Jak was already going after it. _What the heck…I'll explore for a bit._

The area he was presently in appeared to be some kind of meadow. There was also what looked like had been a wooden structure on top of a cliff-hill. But before he could go up, the transmitter beeped, and he head Jak say, "Got the last one. We better head back."

"Roger that," Chase responded.

* * *

Of course, on the way back to the city, Krew had a mission for them: blow up KG listening devices in the harbor. Thank God the JET-Boards hovered over water. And that the magnetic pulse the boards used blew up the listening devices. Although Chase was admit he was a bit too close to one of the mines circling the devices, as he wound up covered in soot.

And then they decided to stop by the Bazaar to see why the heck so many KGs were hanging around. They were in for a surprise when they got there—Ashelin _and_ Jinja.

Chase noted that the regular KGs cocked their guns when the trio came into view. "How's it riding in the hood, girls?" Daxter said, jumping off the front of Jak's board where he had been standing. Chase twitched, and then Jinja pulled him aside.

"You should get out of here," she whispered.

At the same time Ashelin said, "This is Krimzon Guard business!"

Jinja looked over briefly, and then added, "And Chase? I saw Charlemagne a few days ago. She's in the city. So is Trey…and your dad!"

"Seriously?!" Chase asked, shocked. _They _are_ here!_

Jinja nodded. "And _please_ don't ask me how or why, but Errol has a Monsuno!" Judging by her expression…Chase knew how.

Before anything else could happen, an Eco Tanker broke into the Bazaar and blew up, taking out all the guards in the area. Both Core-Tech members had to duck to avoid bits of flying metal, and Metal Heads started pouring out of the open hatch. "Oh krag," Jinja exclaimed, taking something that matched Ashelin's Eco-pistol out.

"You can say that again," Chase said, grabbing his Blaster. It wasn't a serious attack, easily dealt with in three minutes thanks to their combined teamwork. It was the fact that the Metal Heads could get in _at all_ that was worrying.

"We got 'em all! The Metal Heads are getting bolder every day. It's almost like they're testing our defenses," Ashelin said. "Like probing attacks. I've got a bad feeling about this." She walked away without another word.

Jinja looked after her, and said, "I gotta go. Chase…be careful."

* * *

They got back to the hideout after that. Samos was standing outside with the kid and a…crocodile-looking thing that acted like a dog and kinda looked like one. "I want you three to escort the kid over to Kor at the Power Station. He promised to look out for him, and I'm just too busy to baby-sit right now. Oh, and take the crocadog with you!" He turned towards the crocadog, which promptly growled at him. "Oh, heh…isn't he sweet?"

The kid stopped to stare at them with wide eyes. Chase saw that he still had Driftblade's core. "So, what's his story?" he asked, curious.

"I found him just wandering the streets. But that amulet around his neck means he may just be the lost heir to the city. A few months ago, actually, just after you two," He gestured to Jak and Daxter, "started working for the Underground. Whatever the case, just take the kid and the crocadog to the Power Station. Watch out for guard patrols and defend the kid at all costs!"

The kid walked up and grabbed Chase's hand while he wasn't paying attention, causing him to jump slightly. The kid just stared up at him with wide blue eyes. Then the Shadow laughed. "Oh…and if, uh, you happen to lose the crocadog…" The dog growled again.

Then the kid took off down the alleyway without warning. "Hey!" Jak yelled after him. "Kid! Wait!"

"Great," Chase groaned as Jak shot at some KGs who were going right for the kid. "As if we weren't in enough trouble already."

* * *

At hearing gunshots, Charlemagne looked up. She and the other two quickly learned that they'd have to stay inconspicuous here, as there was apparently a warrant for any "short-eared individuals" that had been in effect for two years. As they learned when some of the guards had tried arresting them.

Charlemagne had also noticed that Driftblade's core was missing soon after.

So while the other civilians were running the other way, they went toward the noise. What she saw surprised her to no end.

There was a blond-haired man shooting at guards, while another teen was leading a kid along toward one of the vehicles—a Cruiser. But it was the identity of the other teen that surprised her—it was Chase Suno. Jeredy voiced said fact. _Unbelievable. _So she hadn't been hallucinating that day.

For an instant, she saw Chase look at her, and his eyes lit up in shock when he apparently recognized her, although she was doing very well at disguising herself.

* * *

Chase was still reeling from the fact that Jinja had been right. _Guess Praxis is still looking for all of us, _he thought, remembering how she had been disguised—it had only been when Chase looked at her face did he recognize her. Not to mention she was with two other people…definitely Trey and his father. He'd need to find some time-off to look for them…

"Samos told us to bring the kid to you," Daxter said, from where he was walking with the kid and the crocadog. Said kid ran up to Kor to look at him with wide eyes. Was that all the kid did?

"Thank you," Kor said. "I'll be sure to keep him close." The dog growled at him."How sweet…" he said, turning his head up at the animal.

The dog stopped growling, though, when Jak stroked his head. It actually kind of grinned at him, lolling its tongue out, looking up at him happily.

"Interesting," Kor muttered, as if it actually _was _interesting. "That insufferable mutt never liked anyone but the kids before." The dog stopped smiling and barred its teeth when Kor got close, but let its tongue back out when Jak kept petting it.

"I guess I'm just good with animals." Jak said, kneeling down to properly pet the dog and looking at Daxter, who grinned at him.

"I hope we have enough eco to keep the Metal Heads at bay. During my travels in the deep Wasteland I saw some of the bigger ones. Awesome creatures." Kor said worriedly, glancing at the Eco readings on the screen.

"We saw a big one coming out of a rift once," Daxter said, making claws out of his hand and stomping forward. "He was _uuuuuuugly_!"

Was Chase imagining the insulted look on Kor's face? "I have some valuable information for you. The Baron is conducting an excavation at the Dig. He is still looking for that ridiculous Tomb." As he spoke, the dog…relieved itself on his staff. Chase felt the left side of his mouth twitched as he desperately tried keeping a straight face. "Frankly, I don't believe it exists, but you might as well go out there and disrupt his operation just in case." Kor lifted the stick and shook it off with his nose wrinkled. "Knock down all the scaffolding at the site. That should set him back. Here is an Air Train pass to get you out there."

The kid came up and handed each of them yellow passes. Chase flipped his open to see his picture and some information. He noted it had the "**Wanted! Dangerous criminal!" **on it. He was about to point it out to Jak, but noticed that Jak's pass had the same thing.

The Air Train was in the Harbor, and luckily they didn't have to wait at all for it to come. The Dig was located on an island very close to the Pumping Station, and looked almost tropical in a sense. The excavation was in a cavern, with a freaking _huge_ drill grinding into the ground, held up by a bunch of suspension cables…attached to bars that were pretty low to the ground and looking grindable via JET-Board. So with an exchanged evil grin with Jak, the two of them got to work.

Not to mention these KGs had flash grenades fueled by Dark Eco. So they also had to dodge small smoking things before they blew up. Not fun.

There was one little snag, though. Chase thought he broke the last cable…only to see the drill being held up by about fifty more cables from the top of it. And they couldn't get up there. _One thing left to do, then._

Gauging the expanse of the cave, he grabbed Evo's core from his belt. "Evo, launch!" he shouted, throwing the core.

Two KGs ducked to the side as the core sped between them, clanging against a stone. There was a flash of blue, and the swan-eagle materialized, screeching. "Lightning Bash!" Chase ordered, and the Monsuno whisked around the cave, glowing a bright blue before smashing into the mass of cables, disconnecting all of them.

The drill wobbled dangerously for a second, as if in slow motion, and then it slowly toppled over into the lava, hitting some of the explosive barrels and setting off a huge explosion. Chase dove behind a rock, and once stuff was done flying, called, "Evo, return!"

The four-winged Monsuno dissolved into sparkling blue essence which shot into the core. Chase hardly felt the recoil from it. Probably because he'd gotten stronger over the two years.

"So you have two, then!" Daxter exclaimed.

"Four actually," Chase corrected. "Lock is for drastic measures only." He paused. "And didn't I tell you about them already?"


	13. Chapter 13

**People who have read this before, you better read it again! I changed one huge factor! ~Myra  
**

* * *

When they got to the saloon, a guard simply walked by them. "The Baron sent his goons to harass me as usual, 'ey!" Krew explained irritably, fanning himself. "Health violations. Bank taxes! Everyone wants a piece of me. Aaahh well!"

"Lucky for you, there's plenty to go around!" Daxter said, flinging his hands out.

"Destroying that cargo in the port was more important than you know, ey?" Krew flew away before continuing. "I've got a new project going, and I don't need anyone snooping around my shipments. Let's just say, if everything goes as planned, I'm going to corner the market in Metal Head trophies." He flew back towards us, laughing. Chase felt his nose wrinkle automatically.

"Anyway, I have another job for you two." Daxter huffed. "An associate of mine, Brutter, works with me in the forced labor trade."

"You mean the slave trade?" Chase asked, crossing his arms.

"I prefer _freedom challenged_. Lurkers are the city's low class labor." He whisper-wheezed behind his hand. "Brutter pays me handsomely to help him free Lurkers and get them safely out of the city. Ahhh, it lifts my spirit to help those in need…" Krew trailed off before flying at them, shoving his face between the two of them. "And I NEED his money!"

"Lurkers? We don't like Lurkers!" Daxter said, pouting and crossing his arms over his chest like a little kid.

"But you do like Weapon Upgrades, 'ey?" Krew tossed a blue device to each of them before continuing. "There are three Krimzon Guard Transports carrying Lurkers to a _project_ the Baron has outside the city. Take out the transports, and bring the three Lurkers to Brutter's trinket stand in the Bazaar." The fat man flew away without another word.

They went out back and hopped in a sturdy Flyer. From what Chase could glean from Jak's descriptions of a Lurker, there was no way it'd fit in the passenger seat—so it'd have to settle with the back.

The first transport was in Sector Five, driving around the fountain. As it turned out, the thing was a range-upgrade, so they could shoot farther. A few well-aimed clips from Chase's Blaster took out the transport, freeing the Lurker. Long story short: they were big, purple, and furry.

Though they had to evade KGs the whole way, the whole mission actually took less than a half-hour. They met Brutter himself in the Bazaar—he wasn't what Chase expected.

"Little orangey warrior!" Brutter exclaimed when they sidled up to the bar. "You have do great thing for Brutter and Lurker people!" He grabbed Daxter in his huge hand and started kissing him repeatedly.

Daxter spat and said, "No toucha the '_do_," while running his hand over his goggles and ears.

Brutter apologized, patting Daxter on the head clumsily. "You great guys! Brutter not forget! Brutter pay you back. You see!" the Lurker said, nodding frantically, staring at all three of them with wide yellow-orange eyes.

"Okay, uhh," Jak said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "We gotta go. Stuff to do. People to blow up…"

Chase nodded slowly, backing away.

* * *

Krew was waiting for them with—of course—another mission. "Years ago," he started, flying towards them "When I was an art _collector_, I hit the local museum to…_borrow_ a famous statue of Mar, one of the the founders of Haven City. In Mar's hands, the statue held the Ruby Key to the city, an artifact of surpassing beauty…and of course, priceless worth, 'ey!"

"Oh! I just _love_ art!" Daxter said, jumping up on Jak's head and getting in Krew's face, who swatted him away like an irritating fly.

Which he sort of was, in a way.

Krew continued, ignoring Daxter's interruption. "While smuggling the huge statue through the Sewers, 'ey, a grueling rainstorm flooded the whole place. The statue and five of my best men were swept away!"

"That's terrible!" Chase exclaimed, eyes wide…in disbelief. This, coming from _Krew_?

"Yes, a tragic loss," he said, shaking his head. "I've missed that statue ever since!' Chase snorted, rolling his eyes. Respect points back to zero. "The Sewers have been so full of water and Metal Heads that I can't get anyone to go down there and retrieve the artifact. But you two. You're special; you can do it!"

"Hey, what am I?" Daxter said in a protesting manner. "Chopped liver?"

"Ohhh, don't I wish!" Krew said, licking his fingers loudly. Chase gagged a bit. "Now, go down there, drain the Sewers, and find that statue at the bottom. Bring back the Ruby Key artifact, and it will open up doors beyond our wildest dreams, 'ey!"

"Great, more mucking in the mud…" Chase muttered with a sigh.

* * *

The Sewer entrance was just inside the Industrial Zone with an elevator to get down. There were no Metal Heads this time, and that made Chase a bit suspicious…though he figured their earlier extermination efforts on the earlier expedition had done the trick.

They used the JET-Board to get up a long, mesh-wire pathway that Chase knew for certain hadn't been there last time to get to the drain pipe.

The first valve was just at the end of the tunnel. Chase twisted it, and they watched as the water drained, revealing a tunnel. "How many of these things are there?" Jak asked. Chase shrugged in response, going down.

The tunnel opened up into a big room with several red, flashing water mines sitting on the surface. They were carefully avoided, and the two made their way towards the big pole in the middle of the room to the open door on the right. If Chase looked hard enough, there was an entrance under the water almost directly to the left. He assumed that was the way they had to go next.

There were all sorts of water bombs and spinning machines sticking out of the walls for them to avoid, and after only two close calls with some mines, they were in the room with the second valve.

Jak spun it. Chase noticed that Daxter was avoiding it, and he thought back to the Pumping Station incident, and smirked.

They made their way back down the hall once the water level dropped again, this time dodging all sorts of water rudders that were spinning and randomly popping up. Chase almost hit one because he didn't think it would come up that fast. Daxter had to grab the back of his JET-Board from his spot on the front of Jak's so he didn't run into it.

The next room had all sorts of spinning gears on the water that they had to avoid, and of course more water-mines. The tunnel opened up into a room filled with water and at least six more water mines. Chase hit the last valve, and the mines detonated automatically when they hit the now-dry ground below. There wasn't anything on the floor back the way we came, except for a few mines that had survived. They were easily walked around and got back to the main room—now void of water. One door left—there was a few divots that were still filled with water in there, but that was it.

The statue of Mar stood strong, not showing any signs of water damage. Jak and Chase both stood in silence, looking at the statue. Daxter interrupted the quiet by jumping onto Mar's arm and tugging on the key on the stone on his scepter. He pulled on it a few time until there was a metallic snapping noise and the ruby key went flying.

Impulsively Jak lunged and caught it right before it hit the ground. "That was close," he said, holding it out to admire it. Chase had to admit, it did look pretty. But of course, Krew was going to sell it. "Where would you be without me, eh Daxter?"

"Well Jak," Daxter started, counting out his problems on his fingers. "I probably wouldn't be two feet tall, fuzzy, and running around in a sewer without a pair of pants…" He paused, looking down at his furry legs. "God I miss pants," he concluded sadly, his arms hanging at his side as he blinked.

* * *

After that they had to run back to Vin at the Power Station. "Ahh, we've still got trouble at the Strip Mine," he said, while puttering around, jumping at every slight noise. "I think the Baron set me up. Actually…ah, ahh, I think everybody's trying to kill me!"

Vin panicked, running over to his keyboard and typing frantically. "What are you talking about?" Jak asked disbelievingly, his voice cracking slightly.

"Chill out!" Chase said, putting his hands up slightly.

"Those Eco wells the Baron had us drill?" Vin asked, not acknowledging Chase's comment and never turning away from his computer. "It seems he never intended to pipe them into the city grid. It doesn't make any sense! You know, open eco wells will attract more Metal Heads!" he yelled, hiding behind his computer, hands over his head. He turned towards them and grabbed Chase by the shoulders, shaking him frantically, continuing, "You've got to close them off!"

"Whoa, Vin, calm down, we've got this," Jak said reassuringly, pushing on Vin's shoulder, who seemed to be frozen in place.

Vin snapped back into action, running across the room and coming back with a crate full of what looked like bombs. "Now, these plasmite bombs should do the trick." He threw the box at Jak, who caught it shakily."Drop one into each well, eh, and the blast will do the rest!" Vin wiggled his eyebrows, eyes twitching a little bit.

Jak lost his balance with the box, stumbling backwards a little bit, one of the bombs falling out of the box right into Daxter's hand, who juggled it around a little bit to catch it, but did.

"Hey! Be careful with that!" Vin protested.

"Plasmite, huh?" Daxter twirled the bomb in his hand smacking it a little. "Cool. How does it work?" He asked, pressing it together.

Apparently, like that. The bomb activated, clicking open and revealing a flashing red light.

"Agghhh! I believe this is yours!" Daxter tossed it to Vin.

"Hey, not my problem anymore." The scientist threw it back.

"No. Really. I insist."

"Hey. You're the hero!"

"No! They're the heroes!" Daxter threw the bomb towards Jak. It landed in the crate. Then all the bombs were activated. "Oops. Sorry. My bad…" Daxter responded sheepishly.

"Great! Now you've armed the whole lot! Don't move!" Vin stuck his hands out to Jak, pausing a split second before thinking better of himself. "On second thought_, MOVE_! Far away! Go through the portal and drop one bomb into each Eco well before they all go off!" As they ran to the portal, Vin added, "_You only have two minutes_!"

* * *

There were six mines. So they each took three bombs.

Chase handled the three lower-situated ones, while Jak took care of the high-altitude ones.

They were done with thirty seconds to spare. After meeting up in an open spot, they waited for the thirty seconds.

All six wells detonated at the exact same time in blasts of plasma. Well, five of them did… "Woo! HIGH-YA! Whaaaaa!" Daxter did some mock karate moves. Then the last well blew up, making him fall backwards.

_"Thank goodness you blew up those wells!"_ Vin said over the comm. _"I sure don't want any more Metal Heads coming around here! Good work, boys—I owe ya one!"_

They were in for a surprise when they got back—Kor was there along with Vin. "What a brainwreck!" Daxter exclaimed. "Vin sure is scared of Metal Heads."

"And for good reason. I've seen what Metal Heads do when they take a city. The destruction. The killing. The _devouring_." Chase shuddered at the thought. "The Baron's scheming will only result in this city's falling prey like all the others before it. We must replace Praxis before it's too late." He paused a few moments. "I am happy to say that you and your sidekick are causing quite a stir in our fight against the Baron."

"That's what we're aiming for," Chase said with a nod, smirking.

Daxter noticed something. "Hey, uh, wise and whiskered. You, uh, got something itchin' under your robes? They have ointment for that you know.

"It's just my aching bones." Kor quickly changed the subject. "We have word that the Baron is sending out two of his large tanker ships and to the Drill Platform to pick up some loads of ill-gotten eco. Go out to the Drill Platform through the Warp Gate and knock out that ship! The Shadow will send a team from the Underground to pick up the Eco later. Keep up the good work. We're counting on you!"

"Right, we're on it!" Chase said, and they went back through the Warp Gate.

* * *

The Warp-Gate dumped them in an open area, looking like it was around the Drill Platform. Chase saw a turret on a track that looked mobile…but only one.

At Jak's look, Chase said, "I have an idea." Backing up slightly, he took Evo's core out. "Evo, launch!" The swan-eagle hybrid appeared in a flash of bright-blue.

"Sheesh! That thing's bigger than I thought!" Daxter exclaimed, while Jak stared, wide-eyed. Chase clambered on, and he motioned for Jak to use the turret.

So the mission began.

Evo circled the area in an arc, and Chase kept a sharp eye out for the tanker. He didn't see it…but he did see KGs in flying turrets coming at them. "Evo, Shock Wing!" Chase shouted, and the Monsuno complied. The flying turrets were vaporized by the attack, and the KGs plummeted. Good thing they had parachutes…though Metal Heads would probably get them before they got back to the city.

Both Jak and Daxter were also gunning down the flying KGs, not only with the turret…but Daxter with the Blaster as well. A light-bulb went off in Chase's head, and he did the same.

After a while the Tanker showed itself—it was huge, and had large turrets on it. Jak handled that with his own small turret, while Chase and Evo went right for the engines. One well-aimed Shock Wing took it out immediately, and with a giant blast of smoke and flame, the airship dropped from the sky.

It was routine after that, though Chase had to bring Evo back into its core after seven-and-a-half minutes to avoid a fatal plunge.

_"You've all proved to be quite the asset!"_ Kor praised. _"Without Eco, the Baron will soon topple. The city's future will be in our hands!" _He sounded overly excited…

Chase didn't pay any mind to it, however.

* * *

They actually didn't have anything important to do at the time, so they stopped by the Hip-Hog. Besides, Chase wanted to catch up a bit with Dax, if he was there.

He was…and so was Beyal, surprisingly. No Lirael, of course.

Daxter somehow was already on the counter, leaping into the middle of a story. "So there I was, toe to toe with _five_ of the nastiest Metal Heads you ever saw! Slime oozing from monstrous jaws! Teeth sharper than daggers!" Tess put her hand to her mouth in a dramatic gasp, Dax rolled his eyes, and both Sig and Beyal just looked on with a type of amused interest. "Slowly," the ottsel continued, "All _ten_ of 'em surround me. But do I surrender? No! I summon my highly trained killer instincts, and pounce! Hya! Chooy! Whaa! HAA!" He did some sort of cheap imitation karate, and Chase rolled his eyes, smirking a bit. "And when the dust cleared, there were _twenty_ less Metal Heads in the world!"

"Ohhh, Daxter," Tess cooed, leaning over the counter towards him, "You're amazing!" Chase thought she was joking, but when he noted the sincerity in her voice, he realized she wasn't. Jak tapped his shoulder, and mouthed _"really?"_

"Yeah, I know," Daxter said, yawning ostentatiously. "Scratch me there." He pointed at his back, and Tess started rubbing him.

"Quite a story there, golden boy. I guess you're just the _animal_ we need for another dangerous gig," Sig said, an eyebrow raised. "Combat Metal Heads have now been spotted right here in Haven Forest! These new bad boys have special camouflage, so they're tough to spot but I'm sure with your _killer instincts_ you'll manage." He wiggled his finger in Daxter's direction. "Go to the forest and take 'em all out."

* * *

Even with Dax helping, Chase still thought the camo-Metal Heads were literal demons. He'd almost gotten blasted _seven _times!

After that…well, they actually didn't have anything to do. So, as a last-resort, they stopped by the stadium. "We destroyed Krew's cargo…" Jak informed them as they walked in.

"Great, we'll send you each a medal," the male mechanic said sarcastically. Chase frowned—something about his voice _really_ sounded familiar…almost like—

He shook his head. _Nah…the voice is a bit too deep…_

The female mechanic spoke up. "Now, if you don't mind, we're on a deadline here!"

"Chill out, will you?" Chase exclaimed, speaking for the first time there. For some reason, he saw the male mechanic freeze.

"Are you always this difficult?" Jak asked.

"Let me handle this," Daxter said, pushing his way by. "Listen you two, we beat your stupid course, and we can outrace anybody in this city." He pointed to where the mechanics were, his voice rising.

"Wait! That voice…" she said quietly, and stood up.

Daxter went on. "And there's just two things you need to know. One, we don't want to join your stinking race team, and two…you just lost a date with Orange Lightning. Let's go guys." He turned and walked towards them with a huff…just as the female mechanic opened the curtain.

She was wearing a white shirt, brown pants, and had blue pilot-goggles around her neck. She had _green_ hair, and light-green eyes. "Daxter, it _is _you!" she exclaimed.

And right behind her, staring in shock was—

"_Bren?!_" Chase exclaimed at the same time as Daxter's half-asked half-yelled "Keira?!"

Bren immediately tackled Chase in a hug—Chase wasn't fully prepared for it, actually—his friend had gotten surprisingly stronger. "HolykragIcan'tbeleiveit'syou!" he said quickly.

"Slow down B!" Chase said, backing up slightly.

He caught Keira say, "And Jak! You look…different."

"It's been a tough ride," Jak replied, looking away.

"The Baron pumped our boy here full of Dark Eco, and it did something to him. Now he's got super moves or something, and a few anger issues as well!" Daxter said, though the last part was muttered. Chase noted Bren giving a nervous look to Jak at that.

"I've been looking for you guys _forever_," Keira went on. She gestured behind the curtain. "And a way to get us back home—Bren's been helping."

"Uh-huh," the geek agreed, nodding.

"Somehow that rift took us far into the future—I've calculated the time displacement, and I…"

"We found your father," Jak interrupted. "Well, sort of…"

"Working with the Underground, fightin' the Baron," Daxter put in, doing a mock-punch in the air. "But he's, uh…"

"What?" Keira asked.

"You need to go see him," Jak said. "And I need to get to the Baron."

"You _could_ try to win the Class 1 Racing Championship," Bren said. "The winner of _that_ big race always gets to meet the Baron in the Palace. You need to qualify by winning the lower-class races, though…but there's a Class 3 race starting soon!"

"You can drive for our team!" Keira exclaimed. "But Jak, we should think about getting out of here. I don't like this place—and some of the people are creepy!"

"I second that emotion!" Bren said…right as Krew came out of nowhere.

"Jak, Chase, I _need_ that Ruby Key you found, ey. A special client has requested it," he said.

"Sorry Krew," Jak started.  
"We…must've forgotten…" Chase added sheepishly, handing over said item.

He left, and a voice over an intercom stated, _"Attention all citizens. The Class 3 race is about to begin."_

"Well, wish me luck," Jak said, starting off.


	14. AN

**I'm going to be blunt here. If you don't like how I've written the story, then DON'T FREAKING READ IT. If I get one more nasty reveiw from whoever this anonymous guy is (you know who you are!) I'll just stop uploading my fics here altogether. Got it? ~Myra**


End file.
